Brazil's midfielder Kaka (L) (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)
Dishonourable mention: Kaka, Brazil (v.s. Ivory Coast)
While it wasn’t a straight red, the second yellow card shown to Brazil’s Kaka (which resulted in a red) in his team’s game against the Ivory Coast was one of the more preposterous calls of the tournament thus far. And the “dishonour” goes not to Kaka, but to Abdelkader Keita, who was the “victim” of the “foul” that drew that second yellow.
Referees have a difficult enough job as it is, without players like Keita attempting to manipulate and circumvent the rules. Keita is by no means the most egregious offender in this regard.
What did he do? Pretty much stood still as the Keita purposefully ran into him and then cynically fell to the grass, clutching his face in feigned agony.
Was the red card deserved? Not on this planet. If anything, Keita deserved a yellow card for his spirit-of-the-game-destroying nonsense.
How did the team react? Well, it’s Brazil. So, they won 3-1. But still. It’s the principle!
Daniel Squizzato writes for Some Canadian Guys Writing About Soccer, which takes a passionate (and often irreverent) look at the Canadian soccer scene, major international tournaments and all sorts of odds and ends related to the beautiful game.
