Brisbane Roar's hulking defender Luke De Vere is embarassed, and there are more than 20,000 Melbourne Victory supporters who will argue that he has every right to be.
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De Vere was at the centre of the send-off row just before the hour mark of Victory's pulsating 3-2 win over Roar on Friday night following an incident in which he tangled with Victory striker Besart Berisha.
The two came together, but the contact in the region of his head, as Berisha backed into the defender as forwards do in every match played, looked minimal. However, De Vere doubled up and then held his face.
Whether he meant to or not, whether it was a reflex action or something deliberate, it could only have one effect, and that was to make the incident look a lot more serious than it was.
Referee Chris Beath, on the advice of an assistant referee, then dismissed Berisha, leaving Victory to cling on to their single-goal lead for 30 minutes with just 10 men.
De Vere was the subject of boos and jeers every time he went near the ball for the rest of the game.
Post match, Victory boss Kevin Muscat said the decision to give a red card to Berisha was inexplicable, and that even De Vere agreed.
"Bes is really unlucky. I haven't come across anyone that says it's a red card," Muscat told reporters.
"Luke De Vere comes up to me after the game and was embarrassed because he said, 'I wasn't making a meal of it. It was accidental. I told the referee that.' They were his words, not mine.
"Subsequently I've seen it. The ball's coming up to him [Berisha], he puts his arms out and he doesn't even know where Luke De Vere is but the decision's been made."
