Tim Cahill is used to making headlines and breaking records in Australian soccer.
But his dismissal without setting foot on the pitch in the final stages of Saturday night's Melbourne derby is a record that not even he would have imagined setting.
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Cahill bizarrely sent-off in controversial derby
Tim Cahill was handed a red card on the sideline as tensions boiled over following a controversial late own goal that gave Victory the spoils.
His red card – for offensive language towards referee Chris Beath – is certainly not one he would have wanted to earn, given his reputation and branding as the "king of the kids".
Now he is one of possibly seven City players who will or could be banned from the club's crunch game with Brisbane next weekend, with goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, who called Victory striker Besart Berisha a "gypsy", potentially facing the stiffest sanction of all in the shape of a five match ban if the FFA takes action against him.
Luke Brattan, Fernando Brandan, Bruno Fornaroli, Osama Malik and Manny Muscat all picked up yellow cards, which took them over the limit for cautions and they too will have to look on from the stands when John Aloisi's side comes to town on Saturday evening.
Soccer is an emotional game and it was an incendiary situation on Saturday night, given Cahill's City side had let slip a 1-0 lead in the last six minutes and had just fallen behind to a controversial goal that they felt should not have been allowed to stand. In those circumstances Cahill's frustration is understandable.
He will, however, have to pay the price for the way he expressed his feelings and will face a ban of at least one match for his indiscretion.
Neither Cahill nor the club have made any comment on the situation, which will be reviewed by the match review panel on Monday.
His teammate Bouzanis is also likely to be in hot water after audio from the broadcast of the match caught him referring to Berisha as a gypsy.
The Albanian had been at the centre of Victory's last gasp revival, equalising in the 84th minute of the game (having missed a penalty earlier in the second half) and then standing in front of Bouzanis as the cross came in, which City defender Manny Muscat deflected into his own net in the 86th minute of the game.
City were apoplectic when referee Beath, having consulted with his assistant who had flagged Berisha for being in an offside position, decided the Victory frontman had not impeded the goalkeeper and that the goal should stand.
FFA statistician Andrew Howe said on Sunday that he could not find a similar case to Cahill's expulsion – where a player is red carded without having set foot on the pitch – in the annals of the Australian National Soccer League or in the A-League.
Bouzanis will face a nervous 24 hours as he waits to see if the MRP will take action against him for his language towards Berisha. They may decide to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute.
According to the FFA's disciplinary regulations, Bouzanis could face the rap for contravening the clause prohibiting the use of discriminatory language and/or gestures, including racist, religious, ethnic or sexist language.
In addition to the mandatory match suspension that offence also carries an additional four match sanction, meaning Bouzanis could be out for five games.
City issued a statement on Sunday morning saying that Bouzanis regretted his language and would apologise to Berisha.
"Melbourne City offered an immediate apology to Melbourne Victory for the player's actions and will make a formal apology to Melbourne Victory and the player today.
"Bouzanis admitted making the remarks out of ignorance; however, has since understood the seriousness of his comments.
"Once informed of the gravity of his actions, Bouzanis committed to redressing the offence at the earliest opportunity.
"As such, he will issue a formal and personal apology to the player and begin an appropriate educational course to rectify the gaps in his understanding.
"The club regrets the incident and any offence caused."
This is not the first time the goalkeeper, who gets fired up during games, has been in trouble for verbally confronting opponents.
Both Brisbane coach John Aloisi and Central Coast Mariners boss Paul Okon have expressed their disappointment at his behaviour in their games against City, when he has run out of his 18 yard box to their technical area to exchange heated opinions.
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