Smalling picks up fourth FA Cup final red
Sent off
By Chris
May 22 2016
Chris Smalling became the fourth player to be sent off an in an FA Cup final on Saturday, with three of the games involving Manchester United.
Smalling was dismissed for a second bookable offence, but Jesse Lingaard saved the defender’s blushes by rifling home the winning goal in a tense finale at Wembley.
The England international’s dismissal comes 21 years after the final’s first red card, where United’s Kevin Moran, who was sent from the field following a professional foul on Peter Reid, though the Red Devils still won the contest 1-0.
Twenty years later, Jose Antonio Reyes was sent-off in the closing seconds of extra-time as Arsenal robbed United of the 2005 FA Cup on penalties, whilst Pablo Zabaleta was dismissed for two bookable offences in 2013 as Wigan Athletic stunned Manchester City
Moran remains the only player to have been shown a straight red card.
