Samir Nasri only has himself to blame.
He fell for the oldest trick in the book, and allowed himself to be wound up by Jamie Vardy in Tuesday’s Champions League tie between Leicester City and Sevilla.
The Sevilla midfielder, on-loan from Manchester City, was sent-off after getting involved in an altercation with Vardy towards the end of Leicester’s 2-0 win.
Nasri and Vardy exchanged words, and Nasri leaned his head towards the striker.
It wasn’t exactly a “headbutt”, and Vardy’s reaction was a bit over the top, but wasn’t a smart thing to do when he had already been booked and his team were chasing a place in the quarter-finals.
Sevilla, who led 2-1 from the first-leg, had to play the final stages of the game with 10 players, after Nasri’s foolish action.
Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and Martin O’Neill, on BT Sports’ coverage of the game, all had some choice words for Nasri.
Presenter Gary Lineker said Nasri sending off was “petulant nonsense,” while Gerrard called it “stupid.” The former Liverpool captain said:
“You’re on a second yellow, it’s stupid. For someone of his experience, it’s absolutely amateur.”
Ferdinand said it actually “helped” Sevilla when Nasri was sent-off, as the French midfielder had been playing poorly.
“Him going off probably helped Sevilla, in terms of getting the ball and being a bit more direct,” Ferdinand said.
“Because every time he got the ball he slowed it down anyway. He played at a testimonial pace. It was silly, they both deserved a yellow.”
While O’Neill was scathing in his criticism.
“He looks overweight. Genuinely, he looks overweight,” the former Leicester manager said.
“I thought he was a hindrance all night to Sevilla. He’s certainly not the player he was five years ago.”
https://youtu.be/fXv2XbDT3I0?t=9m10s
