World Football: 10 Most Controversial Red Cards Ever

Footballers throughout the world have seen the wrath of the referee's decision to send off players in important matches in the form of the dreaded red card.

Who can forget seeing a player such as Zinedine Zidane getting sent off for his infamous head-butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup, or seeing David Beckham get a red card and face the wrath of England after they were eliminated from the 1998 World Cup?

Now these two famous examples will always live in infamy but there are other incidents that have seen players get red cards for their actions on the pitch.

Here are the ten most controversial red cards in history.

10. Pepe, 2011 Champions League Semifinal

In the first leg of last season's Champions League semifinal, Pepe was sent off after what was thought to be a reckless challenge on Dani Alves.

The sending off of Pepe led to Barcelona winning 2-0, with both goals being scored after Pepe got sent off.

After the match, Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho was banned for five matches (later reduced to three) for sarcastic remarks over the ejection.

Real Madrid went on to create a video showing Pepe's tackle, along with several other controversial calls that went against Madrid.

The video did show that Pepe never made contact with Dani Alves, causing Madrid to complain that he shouldn't have been sent off.

9. Francesco Totti, 2002 World Cup Round of 16

South Korea's entire 2002 World Cup campaign can be called controversial but the most glaring match in the tournament that was evidence of this was the match against Italy in the Round of 16.

After the match was surprisingly drawn at one after added time, Italy was denied what appeared to be a perfectly good goal for offsides. Shortly afterward, Francisco Totti was given his second yellow card of the match for what was thought by the referee to be a dive.

However, replays showed that Totti appeared to trip on his own feet and wasn't diving as originally thought by the referee.

South Korea went on to score the winner several minutes later and went all the way to the World Cup semifinals.

8. Robin Van Persie, 2011 Champions League Round of 16

Up 3-2 on aggregate in last year's Champions League Round of 16 at the Camp Nou, Robin van Persie was shown a second yellow card after shooting on goal a second after the referee flagged him for an offsides call.

When you consider that van Persie likely didn't hear the referee due to the over 90,000 screaming fans, a red card probably shouldn't have been called.

The red card proved costly for Arsenal, as Barcelona went on to score twice to advance onto the quarterfinal, and would late win the Champions League final.

7. Josip Simunic, 2006 World Cup Group Stage

In their group stage match at the 2006 World Cup, Australia and Croatia faced each other with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw and Australia advanced into the Round of 16, but the real story dealt with English referee Graham Poll and Croatian Josip Simunic.

Simunic got booked twice by Poll in the second half, but remarkably he was not sent off. After the final whistle was blown, Simunich approached Poll and gave him a piece of his mind, earning Simunic a record second red card in a World Cup match before he was finally sent off.

Going into the match, Poll was considered to be a front runner to referee the World Cup final but after committing this blunder, those chances evaporated.

6. Wayne Rooney, 2006 World Cup Quarterfinal

Headed into the quarterfinal of the 2006 World Cup, England thought that they had a legitimate chance to win it all, but they had to get by Portugal first.

In the 62nd minute, Wayne Rooney was sent off for stomping on the groin of Ricardo Carvalho. The referee responded by sending off Rooney after several Portuguese players came up and confronted the ref.

Afterward, there was video of Cristiano Ronaldo winking immediately after helping get his then-Manchester United teammate sent off.

England went on to lose on penalties to Portugal but much of the blame from this English failure landed on the shoulders of Cristiano Ronaldo.

5. Antonio Rattin, 1966 World Cup Quarterfinal

In the quarterfinal of the 1966 World Cup, the English hosted Argentina in what was supposed to be a classic matchup.

Instead, the entire match took a dramatic turn in the 35th minute when Argentina's best player Antonio Rattin was sent off due to a belief held by the referee that Rattin was trying to control the game.

Afterward, Rattin (who was in complete disarray after the sending off) tried coming back on to the pitch at one point, gently wiping his hands on a union flag pennant and stomping around on the sideline.

England went on to win the match 1-0 and won their only World Cup.

4. Laurent Blanc, 1998 World Cup Semifinal

In the 1998 World Cup semifinal, France came from behind to take a 2-1 lead with a chance to reach the World Cup final for the first time in their history.

One of the best players for France was defender Laurent Blanc, who scored the golden goal against Paraguay and scored the decisive penalty against Italy in the quarterfinal.

But with the match less than 20 minutes from completion, Croatian Slaven Bilic started to joust with Blanc inside of the penalty area. After Blanc put his hand on Bilic's chest to stop him, Bilic fell to the ground clenching his face.

The referee responded by sending Blanc off. France went on to hold their 2-1 lead to reach the final, where they won the World Cup final over Brazil.

3. Luis Suarez, 2010 World Cup Quarterfinal

In what is probably the most famous match of the 2010 World Cup, Ghana and Uruguay played 120 minutes of football and penalties appeared inevitable.

However, with only seconds remaining, Luis Suarez prevented a goal for Ghana by clearly handling the ball off the goal line. Suarez was subsequently sent off and Ghana had a chance to win the match on a penalty.

Unfortunately for the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan did not score and Uruguay went on to win the match on penalties.

This play by Suarez caused lots of controversy not only because he prevented Ghana from winning, but also because he bragged about the handball in the months after committing it.

2. David Beckham, 1998 World Cup Round of 16

The 1998 World Cup was supposed to be a coming out party for the young stars of the English national team.

After an impressive group stage, England faced longtime rival Argentina in the Round of 16. Early in the second half, English poster boy David Beckham was caught taking down Argentina's Diego Simeone from behind when Beckham was lying on the ground. Beckham was subsequently red carded for his actions.

England went on to be eliminated on penalties to Argentina, much to the dismay of English fans, who took out their anger on Beckham for months.

Argentina was eliminated in the semifinal by the Dutch. England and Beckham got their revenge on Argentina in Japan four years later in the group stage, with Beckham scoring the winning goal on a penalty in the first half.

1. Zinedine Zidane, 2006 World Cup Final

In the 2006 World Cup, Zinedine Zidane was the heart and soul of the French national team. His play reinvigorated France so much that they went from a side that looked likely to fall out early in the knockout stage to a side that was able to defeat the likes of Spain, Brazil and Portugal to reach the World Cup final.

Zidane was able to score early in the final on a penalty but the Italians were able to tie the game and the match went to extra time.

In the second half of extra time, Zidane found himself next to Marco Materazzi. Materazzi made an offensive statement to Zidane about his sister, which caused Zidane to plant his head in the Italian's chest.

Zidane was red carded and France went on to lose the final on penalties to the Italians.

However, Zidane's red card was not only controversial due to his actions, but also due to how the referees found out about the action.

Apparently, the fourth official saw the action on a video replay on a nearby television screen. However, the linesmen and the referee did not see the incident happen and only acted after hearing about it from the fourth official.

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