Yes, this actually happened.
In Sweden a player has been sent off for breaking wind during a game...
Adam Lindin Ljungkvist, a defender playing for Jarna SK’s reserve team against Pershagen SK, was said to have been guilty of “deliberate provocation” and “unsportsmanlike behavior” by the referee.
He was already on a yellow card and late in the game he received a second after releasing a gust of gas from his body.
Speaking to Swedish newspaper Lanstidningen Sodertalje, the 25-year-old was shocked he was sent off.“I had a bad stomach, so I simply let go... Then I received two yellow cards and then red. Yes, I was shocked, it’s the strangest thing I have ever experienced in football.
“I asked the referee, ‘What, am I not allowed to break wind a little?’ ‘No,’ he replied … I don’t get it but maybe he thought I farted in my hand and threw the fart at him. But I did not.”
Opponent Kristoffer Linde was stunned: “I was standing a good distance away but I heard the fart loud and clear. It’s the strangest thing I’ve seen on a pitch, and I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old.”
Referee Dany Kako has since confirmed Ljungkvist’s second yellow was for breaking wind and in a separate interview with Aftonbladet he described the referee as a “buffoon” and said the decision to send him off was “nonsense” and not an act of provocation.
And there you have it.
Remember, folks, choose your pre-match meal wisely...
