Every footballer dreams of playing in the final of a major competition. It is the stage where careers are defined, legends are made, and one victory is all that stands between a player and football immortality. But while most players leave a final with either a winner’s medal or the pain of defeat, a select few depart in far more unfortunate circumstances with a red card.
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Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez on Sunday joined the hall of shame of those players sent off in a World Cup final.
Fernandez’s sending off also gave Argentina an unwanted record as the country to have had the most red cards in World Cup final history.
1990 GUSTAVO DEZOTTI Argentina
Gustavo Dezotti was the first Argentine player to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup final.
In the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Rudi Völler’s West Germany, Dezotti received a straight red card in the 87th minute after grabbing Völler by the neck during a heated confrontation.
1990 PEDRO MONZON Argentina
He had only been on the pitch for 20 minutes replacing Argentinian hardman defender Oscar Ruggeri, Monzón became the first player ever to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup final. The defender, who had come on as a substitute, received a straight red card in the 65th minute for a high, studs-up challenge on Jürgen Klinsmann.
1998 MARCEL DESAILLY France
Marcel Desailly became the third player in history to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup final.
In the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final at the Stade de France, Desailly was booked in the 49th minute for dissent after he disagreed with the referee that he had fouled defender Cafu.
A foul on the same player resulted in a second booking and leaving his side to defend a 2-0 lead but a man down for over 20 minutes.
Desailly was the first player to be dismissed by two yellow cards in a World Cup final.
2006 ZINEDINE ZIDANE France
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Arguably the most famous red card in history due to the iconic status of the player and how he earned it in a dramatic exit in what was his final match.
France and Italy were locked at 1-1 and the game had gone into extra-time when the two goalscorers, Zidane and Marco Materazzi, had a heated exchange with the latter making a crude remark about the Frenchman’s sister.
Zidane reacted by headbutting the defender and although neither referee Horacio Elizondo nor the linesman saw the incident, the fourth official did.
2010 JOHN HEITINGA Netherland
The 2010 final in Johannesburg was an unedifying spectacle largely because the Dutch, rather like the Argentines in Sunday’s match, thought the best way to unsettle the Spaniards was through physical intimidation.
England’s highly regarded referee Howard Webb was in charge and he issued 14 yellow cards.
Heitinga was sent off for two bookings, and the player he fouled for the latter, Andres Iniesta, proved there is justice as he was to score the winner minutes later.
