Picture Credit: Twitter
The quarter-finals of Copa America 2021 witnessed a lot of drama and controversies as three players were sent off in the first two matches. The clash between Peru and Paraguay saw Andre Carrillo and Gustavo Gomez sent off. However, the worst red card of the day went to Brazil's Gabriel Jesus, who produced a horrendous tackle on his opponent in the match against quarter-final clash against Chile.
Is it the worst tackle in football in recent times?
It was the 48th minute of the match and Brazil had just taken the lead through a goal from Lucas Paqueta two minutes back. Jesus was chasing a high ball over his head and had his eyes glued towards the ball. As he extended his feet to control the ball, he did not realize that Chile's Eugenio Mena was in his way as his flying boot caught the face of his opponent.
The referee immediately sent him off for producing one of the most dangerous tackles ever seen on the field of football. Although replays confirmed that it was not intentional, it was still reckless as the referee had no choice to issue a red card.
Watch the video here:
After the match, the 24-year-old apologized for his horrendous mistake as the tackle injured his opponent and also put his team in danger. “I apologise to my teammates and I will always continue to try to learn from my mistakes. I'm relieved to hear that Mena is fine and we've already talked about it," said Jesus. As Brazil went on to win the match 1-0, they will have Gabriel Jesus suspended for the semi-final clash against Peru.