Pre-season chaos is unrivalled
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ pre-season friendly match against Levante descended into chaos when four players were sent off in the first half.
The Premier League outfit were awarded an early indirect free-kick on the goal-line after Levante were penalised for a deliberate pass back to the goalkeeper.
The match then took an unexpected turn just after the half-hour mark when a rash challenge led to a furious melee on the pitch – with coaches from both sides running onto the pitch to try and calm the situation down.
TWO RED CARDS…in a pre-season friendly…Mosquera for Wolves and Enis Bardhi for Levante.
It was on the far touchline to us – did anyone see on the stream what happened? #wwfc
— Liam Keen (@LiamKeen_Star) July 21, 2022
Levante’s players were angered with a tackle by Yerson Mosquera, with the Spanish side’s players pushing and shoving the Wolves man.
Mosquera was removed from the situation by teammates, but Levante’s players were still furious with the challenge. It remains unclear what exactly happened prior to the incident.
The referee, who remained patient during the chaos, eventually sent off Mosquera for Wolves and Enis Bardhi for Levante.
Levantes highlights🤦🏻♂️
In a practice match btw.#Wolves | #wwfc | #levante pic.twitter.com/AYXTZuWzDV— @ (@RealKingJen) July 21, 2022
However, the drama was far from over. Moments before the half time whistle, Daniel Podence was annoyed with an opposition defender and more pushing and shoving quickly followed.
Players from both teams once against sprinted towards the incident, with the ‘friendly’ game seemingly in danger of being abandoned.
The referee showed a further two red cards, one to either side, leaving the match as nine vs nine just before the interval.
https://twitter.com/benaramsdale/status/1550048701888057344
Despite four players being shown their marching orders in the first period, both sides restored to their full complement for the second half. Given it was *just* a pre-season clash, that was somewhat understandable.
It was Levante who went on to secure victory in the match, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Roger Martí Salvador and Giorgi Kochorashvili.
Unsurprisingly, given the events that unfolded in the game, the referee opted to blow for full-time in the 87th minute and bring the chaos to a close.
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