A Borussia Monchengladbach star was given his marching orders after spitting at an opposition player in ugly scenes in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Marcus Thuram, the Champions League side's striker, was seen spitting in the face of Hoffenheim star Stefan Posch's face in the 77th minute of the encounter as referee Frank Willenborg was instructed to review the incident by VAR.
Upon reviewing the pitchside monitor, Willenborg deemed the incident a red card offence and dismissed the Frenchman. The score at the time of the incident was 1-1, Monchengladbach lost the encounter 2-1.
'It's a shame for the team and a shame for him,' Gladbach teammate Valentino Lazaro reflected after the game. 'It doesn't fit with his character at all.'
However, midfielder Christoph Kramer was less sympathetic of his team-mate. 'His fuse blew. That should of course never happen to him. You can't excuse it,'' Kramer said.
Meanwhile, Gladbach coach Marco Rose apologised 'on behalf of the whole club' and added: 'It simply doesn't belong on a football pitch. It goes way beyond the limits.'
Hoffenheim player Posch was booked for his role in the altercation. Sebastian Hoeneß replaced the Austrian defender with Kevin Akpoguma, who set up Ryan Sessegnon to score the game's winning goal in the 86th minute.
Thuram has been a key figure in Rose's side this season, scoring four goals and providing seven assists in 20 outings for the Bundesliga side so far.
Saturday's defeat saw Monchengladbach slip to eighth in the league table, four points off fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund, who have been linked with a move for Rose to replace sacked coach Lucien Favre.