Player sent off on FA Cup debut for “accidently” flashing referee

When Croydon midfielder Louis Blake was asked by the referee to prove that he had removed his undershorts, he was a little too generous with his evidence and was duly given his marching orders.

Blake was given an early bath during Saturday’s FA Cup extra-preliminary round match against Colliers Wood after only coming on as a second-half substitute to make his debut for the club.

Around 20 minutes after coming on, the referee ordered Blake to remove his black cycling shorts as they didn’t match Croydon’s burgundy kit, though the 21 year-old claimed he didn’t have a spare pair to change into.

After a quick change in the dressing room, a loose and breezy Blake came back to the field of play with the referee asking the player to show him that he had in fact removed the shorts. We would have taken him at face value, but hey, we're not the officials.

“I was gobsmacked, I was shocked and I was angry. I just pulled my shorts forward a bit to show him there was nothing there and he gave me a red,” Blake told The Metro.

“How else am I meant to prove I’ve got nothing on down there? All I wanted to do was make a good impression on my debut and now I’m probably going to have to miss three games.”

Now who said the FA Cup had lost its romance?