5 of the funniest red cards in football: Gibbs leads as Neymar & Cavani in

Red cards are an unfortunate part of football, but these 10 sendings off came under truly funny circumstances.

Neymar (2011)

As one of the world's best players, but before Neymar became the superstar, he had to deal with a number of hurdles. Injuries, World Cup heartbreak and, um, strange red cards.

The Brazilian had just scored to make it 3-0 to his side Santos, before proceeding to pick up a mask a fan had thrown to him. The mask was simply Neymar's face, and he decided to don it to be funny.

However, the referee had other ideas, and decided to give the now-PSG star a second yellow for... wearing a mask.

Carragher (2002)

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher would probably be remembered as one of the most dependable, and professional, players of his generation, but even he wasn’t immune to a strange red card in 2002. The incident happened during an FA Cup tie that saw the Reds facing Arsenal at Highbury.

Gunners fans were already angry with referee Mike Riley for awarding Martin Keown a red card – and when he sent off Dennis Bergkamp for a two-footed lunge, they completely lost their heads. Debris began to rain down onto the pitch, and Carragher was struck by a coin thrown by a Gunners fan.

The Liverpool defender angrily threw the coin back into the crowd, and was subsequently sent off by Riley. Carragher ended up being widely condemned for his actions, although the blame was also laid at the feet of the fans who threw the debris.

The defender ended up publicly apologising – avoiding a charge of misconduct by the FA in the process, but was slapped with a formal warning by the police instead.

Gibbs (2014)

Arsenal took on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, and Eden Hazard was causing problems for the Gunners defence. The Belgian had a great chance to score, as his shot whistled towards the far post. It had beaten the keeper, but apparently not Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who brushed the ball behind with his hand.

Obvious red card incoming. Andre Marriner marched towards... Kieran Gibbs. And sent him off. 

The left-back looked speechless, as Oxlade-Chamberlain revealed to the referee that it was actually him who denied the ball.

He didn't care, and Gibbs was given his marching order for a crime he did not commit.

Hakan Unsal (2002)

Turkey qualified for the World Cup in 2002 for the first time in 40 years, and even had a pretty decent team. They faced Brazil in the first game of the group stages, and it's fair to say that there was controversy galore.

The referee, Kim Young-Joo, wasn't having the best of games, and had awarded a controversial late penalty to Brazil as well as red card to a Turkey player. With Brazil 2-1 up, they then decided to play football at an utterly snail's pace, and were time wasting in a manner that we have never seen before.

Hakan Unsal was rightly frustrated, and so kicked the ball with towards Rivaldo who was wasting time before taking a corner. It bounced off the Brazilian's shin, and I can guarantee you he didn't feel an ounce of pain. However, he laughably grabbed his face and fell over screaming in pain.

It was a truly disgraceful but somewhat humorous moment, and Unsal was then sent off. Rivaldo was fined after the game for his actions, but the damage was done, and Brazil would go on to win the tournament.

Cavani （2014）

Plenty of players have a trademark celebration, and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani is no different. Like many players before him, Cavani’s celebration involves mimicking the shooting of a gun. Unfortunately, that celebration got him into hot water during a 2014 match between Paris St-Germain and Lens.

With PSG 1-2 up early in the second half, Cavani was brought down in the box by Lens defender Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and the referee awarded a penalty, sending Gbamin off in the process. The Uruguayan promptly scored the spot-kick, and then performed his trademark sniper-rifle celebration.

Evidently unimpressed, the referee booked him, and then when Cavani attempted to remonstrate with him, he showed him a second yellow and dismissed him. Thankfully for PSG, the referee then sent off Lens midfielder Jerome Le Moigne, making the game 10 men against 9.

Still, that didn’t let the official off the hook with PSG’s president Nasser Al Khelaifi after the game. He quite rightfully questioned the red card, unable to understand why, if the celebration was so bad, Cavani had never landed himself in trouble before.