Former Manchester United defender sent off for punching opponent in the face

Over the years, Manchester United have had some solid defenders, happy to get stuck into the game and assert their solid presence.

Players like Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanji Vidic and even Harry Maguire have all done what they need to do to keep the back line impenetrable.

However, The Sun has reported that ex-Red Devil Marcos Rojo has once more found himself in hot water after throwing his weight around too aggressively, in a game he’ll want to forget for too many reasons.

In the 33rd minute of Racing Club’s 2-0 defeat to River Plate, Rojo made his first major error of the game, directly leading to the opening goal from Facundo Colidio.

At half-time he was caught by cameras confronting referee Sebastian Zunino, with him ultimately getting a yellow card when the game restarted fro the verbal abuse.

In the second half, two incidents saw the former Argentina international get physical as ge grabbed Gonzalo Plata by the neck and pulled his hair at different times.

However, in the 80th minute his game came to an end as during a corner, Marcos Rojo turned and delivered a deliberate forearm strike to the face of Lucas Martínez Quarta, who had his back turned and was marking another player.

Referee Zunino didn’t initially see the off-the-ball aggression, but VAR official Ariel Penel intervened immediately. As Zunino walked to the pitch-side monitor, Rojo attempted to intimidate him along the way.

After reviewing the footage, Zunino showed a straight red for violent conduct. Rojo responded by getting face-to-face with the referee and screaming before teammate Santiago Sosa physically dragged him away.

Racing coach Gustavo Costas offered a pointed post-match assessment: “When they announced his name in the lineup, the fans applauded him. By the end they were cursing him.”

He continued: “Those things can’t happen to us. We can’t leave the team with ten men. You have to be smarter, especially when you’re losing.”