Watch: Turan escapes red after throwing boot at linesman
Arda Turan will never throw in the towel, but throwing the boot isn’t beyond him.
The Atletico Madrid midfielder launched his footwear at an assistant referee when Barcelona visited the Vicente Calderon for the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final tie yesterday morning (Singapore time).
The Turkish international missed his target, and escaped with only a yellow card for the second-half incident although his intention was clear.
Turan, 27, was frustrated by a challenge from Barcelona’s Dani Alves, which left him wearing only one boot.
The former Galatasaray man was also lucky to avoid a second yellow soon after, when the ball struck his arm and referee Jesus Gil Manzano gave Barca a free-kick.
Quickly withdrawn
Atletico coach Diego Simeone quickly took Turan off to avoid him being sent off.
In a tempestuous match, Barcelona came from behind twice to beat nine-man Atletico 3-2, and progress to the semi-finals 4-2 on aggregate.
At half-time, Turan’s midfield partner Gabi had already seen red, while Mario Suarez received his second yellow in the second half for raking his studs down Lionel Messi’s ankle.
Atletico, however, were unable to overcome the two-man disadvantage.
Fernando Torres had given Atletico the lead with a goal inside the first minute before Neymar equalised when he finished off from a Luis Suarez assist.
Raul Garcia restored Atletico’s lead by converting a controversial penalty, but Barcelona came back through a Miranda own goal and another Neymar strike before half-time.
Source: Daily Mail
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