CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
When was the last Champions League final red card?
A very small group of players have been sent off in the UCL final and none of their teams went on to lift the trophy that season.
The Champions League final is the pinnacle of European club soccer and, for the vast majority of those involved, the peak of their career.
However for a small group of players the final has turned sour, receiving a red card in the showpiece game. Few could blame players for an error of judgement in such a high-stakes situation but just three players in the history of the Champions League have been dismissed in the final.
Those players are Jens Lehmann (Arsenal, 2005/06), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, 2007/08) and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus, 2016/17). Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of their teams went on to lit the trophy that day. Cuadadro remains the most recent addition to his ignominious club.
How many players have received a straight red in the UCL final?
Of that unfortunate trio, Lehman and Drogba were the only two to have been shown a straight red card. Lehmann was dismissed for a professional foul in the 2006 final against Barcelona, hauling down Samuel Eto’o as he was about to open the scoring.
The next was Drogba, who waited until the 116th-minute of a tense final against Premier League rivals Manchester United in 2008. He aimed a petulant slap at United defender Nemanja Vidic and was given his marching orders.
Juventus winger Cuadrado was the only one who can feel a little hard-done-by for his UCL final dismissal. He received two yellow cards in the 2017 final against Real Madrid, picking up the second with just six minutes of normal time remaining when Sergio Ramos made the most of a mild push from the Colombian.