BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — A player was sent off at the Women’s European Championship for pulling an opponent’s hair, six days after a similar incident during the Club World Cup final.
The Video Assistant Referee spotted Germany midfielder Kathrin Hendrich yanking the ponytail of France captain Griedge Mbock as a free kick was floated into the area.
With less than 13 minutes played, Hendrich was shown a red card and moments later Grace Geyoro converted the resulting penalty to give France a 1-0 lead in Saturday’s quarterfinal.
It was a somewhat unusual red card but the second such incident in the space of less than a week.
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder João Neves was sent off for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair, towards the end of Chelsea’s 3-0 victory in the trophy match of the Club World Cup last Sunday.
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