The most brutally harsh red card was shown in the Ligue 1
Olympique Lyon defender Marcelo was given his marching orders after one of the most unfortunate accidents saw the referee brandish the red card.
In Lyon's game against Angers, Marcelo was cautioned for a foul just outside his box and, as he turned around throwing his arm away in disdain, his hand accidentally made contact with the referee's yellow card.
The official seemed to think that the Lyon defender had flicked the card out of his hand deliberately and instantly showed him a red card. To make matters worse, Lyon then threw away their two-goal lead as they went from 3-1 to 3-3.
Marcelo protested his innocence but his appeals fell on deaf ears. His teammates also protested to no avail and the club will appeal the decision so that the red card is retrospectively scrapped. However, the damage has already been done.