Galatasaray’s Marcão started the 2021/22 Süper Lig season, being shown a red card after clashing with his own teammate.
The 25-year-old Brazilian defender was sent off in the second half of Galatasaray’s league opener against Giresunspor, but the cause of the red card was not due to a clash with an opponent, but due to an altercation with one of his own teammates.
In the 61st minute of the game, Marcão seemed to be angered by a comment made by Galatasaray forward Kerem Akturkoglu, leading to the Brazilian to approach Akturkoglu and then headbutt him.
Marcão then attempted to punch Akturkoglu several times, before then being pulled away by the rest of the Galatasaray squad.
Galatasaray still ended up winning the game 2-0 despite the internal clash between the two players.
However, Marcão’s future at the club remains unclear.
No disciplinary action has been announced as of yet, but a suspension for Marcão might soon be released after the unexpected incident.
Galatasaray manager Fatih Terim said after the match that he would be dealing with the defender and then insisting that Marcão will apologise for his behaviour.
🟥 Galatasaray’s Marcao was sent off after head butting and punching his own teammate. Crikey.pic.twitter.com/4nWjKjFh7R
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) August 17, 2021
“The club will do what is necessary in their own way.”
“Marcão will apologise to Kerem and the rest of the team for his behaviour”, Terim added.
Marcão joined Galatasaray from Portuguese club Grupo Desportivo de Chaves in 2019, and since then he has become a mainstay in the Turkish giants’ squad, playing in 107 games during his two-year spell.
However, this act will surely put his future at the club in doubt, with such disciplinary issues being highly frowned upon in the sport.
Galatasaray defender Marcao get red-carded yesterday for punching and head-butting… his own teammate 😮⚽️ pic.twitter.com/p8IV5LpshH
— Visubal (@visubal) August 17, 2021
This is not the first time that we have seen professional footballers that are in the same team clash during a match, with one of the most infamous ones being that between Newcastle United teammates Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer in 2005, during a game against Aston Villa.
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Should Marcão be allowed to play for Galatasaray again?
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