The international break is enough to make anyone see red – but none more so than a non-league player that was made piggy in the middle.
Tom Derry, once one of the UK’s top 30 most swiped-right daters on Tinder, took a swipe of his own in one of the wildest sending-offs.
The Folkestone Invicta striker, who was crowned Britain’s sexiest footballer in 2018, tarnished his formerly squeaky-clean image by lashing out late on in his club’s 3-0 defeat to Billericay Town.
With his side already two goals down and hopes of a comeback hinging on a knife edge, Derry saw his frustrations boil over.
The game was stopped in the 75th minute of the Isthmian League Premier Division fixture as a Billericay player required treatment.
Seemingly intent on getting the ball back to restart the action as quickly as possible, Derry approached the Billericay goalkeeper.
But on this occasion, the former Gillingham forward’s chat was given the brush off as keeper Sam Donkin instead performed kick-ups.
The Ricay’s No.1 then exchanged lofted passes with his defender Matt Johnson as Derry bumbled between them.
He made two failed swipes at grabbing the ball in mid-air as an impromptu game of piggy in the middle begun to the fans’ delight.
Derry responded by charging down Donkin and sticking his foot between his legs akin to a foul by Dominic Solanke on David Raya.
The referee, who was standing just five yards away, took a dim view of the situation and showed the attacker a straight red card.
Footage of the incident soon went viral on social media, with one fan writing: “Hahahah proper 10/10 s*** housery this. Fair play to the defender and the keeper.”
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Another added: “I don’t even think it was the kick that got him sent off, it was grabbing him when he was on the floor and shaking him that did it LMAO.”
“A third wrote: “Of all the ways to get sent off for violent conduct, this is definitely one of them.”
Things soon went from bad to worse for Folkestone as Ibrahim Jalloh later capitalised on a defensive error to add a third goal late on.
Billericay were already cruising after a second-half double from Ashley Nzala to move up to third in the league after six matches.
Derry meanwhile will now be anxiously grindr his teeth over whether he’ll be handed a three-match ban for violent conduct.
His profile will soon be updated to show his upcoming Saturday afternoons will now be free…
News Summary:
- ‘Britain’s sexiest footballer’ sent off after being made piggy in the middle
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