Lloyd Kelly: How a second yellow for a Juventus player turned into an awful straight red
We’ve all become accustomed to the moment when a referee calls for the pitchside monitor to review a VAR decision. So, when Joao Pinheiro, who had just brandished Lloyd Kelly a second yellow for a foul on Baris Yilmaz, motioned for- and then headed to the sidelines, the stadium briefly buzzed with hopeful cheers from Juventus fans inside the Allianz Stadium. The context was the Europa Conference League? Actually, it was in the knockout round playoff second leg against Galatasaray, a match that had everything riding on it.
What followed was a twist that nobody saw coming. The on-field second yellow was overturned—yet instead of being erased, it was upgraded to a straight red. The 27-year-old Kelly was furious at the 49th-minute call, and he vented by kicking a wall as he left the pitch, while Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti wore a bemused, puzzled expression on the sidelines.
Juventus led 1-0 at that point, attempting to overturn a 5-2 deficit from the first leg. Even with ten men, they fought back to lead 3-0, tying the aggregate score at 5-5 and forcing extra time. However, late goals from Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz sealed a 7-5 Galatasaray win on aggregate.
Reaction poured in from former pros and pundits. Curtis Davies called the decision an “absolute disgrace,” arguing that Kelly jumped for the header cleanly and should have landed somewhere safely, not on another player. He added that players must sometimes find a way to place their feet, and he understood Kelly’s frustration. Rory Smith echoed the sentiment, labeling the call “awful” and a “disgrace.”
Andy Reid, a former Tottenham midfielder, suggested football is edging toward a non-contact trend, insisting that some contact and pain are part of the game and unavoidable. In UEFA rules, any player sent off by a referee—whether by two yellows or a straight red—faces automatic suspension for the next match in European club competition. But because Juventus were eliminated, Kelly’s suspension will spill into the next season.
Nedum Onuoha, the ex-Manchester City defender, said Kelly should feel disappointed, but acknowledged that red cards in football are often a reality of how the sport operates. Conversely, Stephen Warnock, a former Liverpool full-back, argued against the red card, deeming the incident purely accidental and therefore not warranting a red.
