Kostas Tsimikas was livid with the Ireland star, and Ronnie Whelan was not far off.
Matt Doherty lost the run of himself with a needless shoulder, which sparked a late melèe, as Ireland slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Greece in Athens.
Nathan Collins’ first half equaliser was the only real high-point of the night and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu getting the RTE man of the match tells you how Greece were the team deserving of three points.
In the end-game, with Ireland trailing, Troy Parrott lambasted Doherty for not playing him through after he made a run in behind the Greek defence. Soon after, Doherty had a low drive that was well saved. There would be no late heroics. Instead, we had a red card and a flashpoint brought about by Doherty’s frustrations getting the better of him.
There was no need for the shoulder barge, but Tsimikas and his Greek teammates jumped into gear and made such a big deal out of the shunt that the referee just doled out some yellows and a red for the Dubliner.
Matt Doherty sees red in the closing stages to cap off a miserable night for Ireland in Athens. #Euro2024 #GREvIRL #RTESoccer
📺 Watch reaction: https://t.co/4qNNceBCQB
📻 Listen: https://t.co/Vpls4Lx8IW
📱 Updates: https://t.co/lHOKS7jxfP pic.twitter.com/9FomANiBMg— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 16, 2023
It was a harsh enough, if silly, red card for Matt Doherty but he was never going to get it reversed.
He made matters worse by re-entering the field of play after the game, with RTE commentator Ronnie Whelan criticising it as “ridiculous”, saying Doherty ‘needs to get off the pitch’. The Liverpool and Ireland legend was not the only one exasperated by the 90+ minutes, and that messy end.
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