Marc Cucurella Hands Referee His Dropped Red Card Before Ivan Perisic Dismissal
The Spain defender retrieved the card after referee Erik Lambrechts dropped it during Perisic’s dismissal.
Marc Cucurella handed referee Erik Lambrechts his dropped red card during Spain’s 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.
The unusual moment occurred late in the second half after Ivan Perisic received his second yellow card for bringing down Cucurella during a Spain attack.
Several Croatia players gathered around Lambrechts to protest the decision as the Belgian referee attempted to complete the dismissal.
However, Lambrechts dropped his red card onto the pitch before he could raise it.
Cucurella noticed the card on the ground, picked it up and handed it directly back to the referee.
Lambrechts then held the card aloft and dismissed Perisic, reducing Croatia to 10 players during the closing stages in Split.
Footage of Cucurella assisting with the dismissal quickly circulated on social media, where supporters described the intervention as a “red-card assist”.
Perisic had earlier opened the scoring for Croatia before substitute Mikel Merino equalised for Spain during the second half.
Merino then scored a late winner after Perisic’s dismissal to complete Spain’s comeback and secure a 2-1 victory.
The result confirmed Spain’s place in the Nations League quarter-finals with two group matches still to play.
