Quickest red card ever? Ex-Barca star sent off after just NINE SECONDS
Robin Bairner
- 18 Sept 2022 17:56 BST
- 3 min read
Jean-Clair Todibo saw red after just nine seconds of Nice’s Ligue 1 encounter with Angers on Sunday, with the former Barcelona man’s dismissal one of the quickest ever.
The incident occurred straight from kick off as the visiting side cut a major hole in the Nice defence. Former Bayern Munich man Dante was drawn out of position and as Todibo moved across to try to cover for him, he tripped Abdallah Sima, who was running through. The match was only six seconds old when the foul was made, but by the time he was shown the red card, nine seconds had elapsed.
With still 25 meters between the striker and the goal, plus the possibility that a heavy first touch would have taken possession decisively away from him, it proved to be a controversial decision – and one that the notoriously hot-headed Todibo disputed on social media.
What is the quickest red card ever?
Todibo's red card after nine seconds equals that of Rosario Central defender Fernando Tobio, who was sent off in the same time while playing Godoy Cruz in 2017. It was widely cited as a world record at the time, although such a claim is impossible to verify.
The previous record in France was thought to be the dismissal of Maxime Spano of Toulouse in 2014, when he saw red after 34 seconds for a foul on Divock Origi.
Todibo claims refereeing decision was ‘scandalous’
Jean-clair Todibo 9 second red card Vs Angers pic.twitter.com/nusWC5Vyhz
— Football #2 (@football34_2) September 18, 2022
“A refereeing decision that shocks me and condemns my team to start the match with a big disadvantage. The decisions of the referees at the start of the season are very questionable, even scandalous, and I hope that LFP will do something to remedy it,” he said.
Todibo is known for his outspoken nature, and that is part of the reason that at just 22 he finds himself at his third senior team.
He broke into the Toulouse team as a teenager but found himself frozen out when he refused to sign a new deal with the club and instead agreed to join Barcelona at the end of his contract on a free transfer.
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Things did not go smoothly at Barca either. Although he earned praise for his debut performance against Huesca, he quickly grew frustrated with a lack of game time and spent loan spells at Schalke and Benfica. While he had some modest success in Germany, his switch to Portugal proved a compete bust as his professionalism was question. Indeed, it was cut short after half a season.
Nice stepped up to sign Todibo, initially on loan, in January 2021 but they completed a permanent transfer for the player for just €8.5m, plus €7m potentially following in bonuses. Barcelona have retain a right to a percentage of any future sale, with FootballTransfers valuing the defender at €21 million.
Napoli, Sevilla and an unnamed Premier League club all had bids for him refused this summer.
