Ashley Cole was sent off as tempers boiled over during England’s European Under-21 Championship final against Spain on Saturday. The ugly scenes were sparked by the Young Lions’ opening goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
England and Spain were evenly matched during the first period of the final as they both had chances to open the scoring from set-pieces. But Young Lions fans had to wait until the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half to see their country break the deadlock as Cole Palmer’s free-kick deflected off Curtis Jones and went into the back of the net.
As the players ran back to the centre of the pitch to get the match restarted, unsavoury scenes broke out as both sets of players became involved in heated exchanges. The respective coaching teams were also dragged into the melee, with Cole ultimately being given his marching orders by Norwegian referee Espen Eskas.
Spain also had a coach dismissed during the incident, with England defender Levi Colwill and Spain attacker Oihan Sancet also making their way into the referee’s notebook with cautions. But opposing managers Lee Carsley and Santi Denia finally shook hands as the referee finally got the situation under control.
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