A Swedish footballer has called a referee a 'buffoon' after he was sent off for farting during a match - with the official accusing him of 'deliberate provocation'.
Adam Lindin Ljungkvist was playing at left-back for Pershagen SK in the seventh tier of Swedish football when he was shown asecond yellow card in the final minute of the game. Describing the surreal moment, the 25-year-old said: 'I had a bad stomach, so I simply let go. Then I received two yellow cards and so a red.
'Yes, I was shocked, it's the strangest thing I have ever experienced in football'.
He added: 'I asked the referee "what am I not allowed to break wind a little?" He replied "no"...I don't get it but maybe he thought I farted in my hand and threw the fart at him. But I did not'.
The aggrieved defender told Aftonbladet: 'To provoke anyone with a fart is not particularly smart or normal. It's nonsense - I just broke wind and got a red card.
'I spoke to the referee afterwards, I was annoyed, but there were no bad words. I just said he was a buffoon.'
Reflecting on the 'crappy judgement', he said: 'I can only laugh about it. This has to be unprecedented, surely. I've never heard of anyone who has been sent off for doing a fart.'
Opposition striker Kristoffer Linde told Länstidningen Södertälje: 'I was standing a good distance away but I heard the fart loud and clear. It's the strangest thing I've seen on a pitch, and I've been playing football since I was eight years old.'
Explaining his decision, the referee Dany Kako said: 'I perceived it as deliberate provocation. He did it on purpose and it was inappropriate. Therefore, he received a [second] yellow card.'
