Cameroon forward Vincent Aboubakar made a fairly remarkable mistake during Friday’s World Cup match, and he did it after scoring a goal, no less.
Aboubakar scored a header in the 92nd minute against tournament favorite Brazil to give Cameroon an unlikely 1-0 victory in their Group G finale. The forward immediately pulled off his shirt in celebration upon scoring, which is hardly an unprecedented move in soccer.
What was unprecedented is the fact that Aboubakar received a red card for it. A player who takes off his shirt gets an automatic yellow card, and Aboubakar had already received his first yellow earlier in the match. That meant he was getting a second, which is an automatic red card and ejection.
Aboubakar knew it, too, and he even seemed to have a little laugh with the referee as he was shown the red card.
Cameroon had to finish the game with 10 men. They finished 1-0 win anyway. The victory ultimately did not matter, as Switzerland beat Serbia to clinch the second knock-out berth out of the group.
Presumably, Aboubakar knew the situation and did it anyway. That would have been awkward had Cameroon advanced, though, with the forward facing an automatic suspension for the sending off.
More must-reads: