Under the lights at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Ethan Mbappé’s Champions League night against Real Betis turned in an instant. Lille’s 19-year-old has been handed a three-match UEFA suspension after his straight red card in the 3-2 defeat on 8 September.
Red card after Betis take the lead
The incident came in the 56th minute, moments after Troy Parrott had scored Betis’ third goal. As the visitors celebrated and began to return towards the centre circle, Betis centre-back Natan approached Mbappé from behind and spoke to him.
Mbappé responded by striking Natan in the face with an elbow. Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov had not seen the confrontation at first, but VAR intervened and directed him to review the episode. Kabakov then dismissed the Lille player immediately.
- The match was Lille’s opening fixture in the Champions League league phase.
- Betis won 3-2 at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
- Parrott’s goal had just made it 3-2 when the incident occurred.
- Mbappé was shown a direct red card following the VAR review.
Three European matches to miss
UEFA has now imposed a three-game ban for the offence. Unless Lille successfully challenge the decision, Mbappé will be unavailable for three demanding fixtures in the competition.
- Arsenal away in London on 13 October.
- Galatasaray at home on 21 October.
- Bodø/Glimt away in Norway on 3 November.
The Betis match was only Mbappé’s third Champions League appearance. The younger brother of Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé will now have to wait until after Lille’s trip to Norway before he can return to European action.
