Well now, Edin Dzeko. What exactly were you thinking here?
Nel frattempo Dzeko.. pic.twitter.com/1NKVLFGbxw
- CALCIATORI BRUTTI (@CB_Ignoranza) November 13, 2016
The incident occurred in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday, with Dzeko's Bosnia-Herzegovina leading 1-0 at Greece in the second half.
Dzeko fell down over the ball and -- taking objection to Sokratis Papastathopoulos standing over him -- the former Manchester City striker pulled the defender's shorts down to his knees.
Then in a finishing move taken from countless cartoons, Dzeko used his opponent's limited mobility to bring Papastathopoulos to the ground.
It was a curious decision, no less so because Dzeko was already on a yellow card and had to know he'd be sent off.
Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson did indeed dismiss Dzeko, but he also sent off Greece's Kyriakos Papadopoulos for his reaction.
It's not yet known if that latter dismissal was a case of mistaken identity -- and between Papastathopoulos and Papadopoulos, who could blame him -- but the incident left both teams with 10 men, and Greece were able to equalise in the 95th minute.
After the game, Dzeko pleaded innocent, which might be the most preposterous aspect of the entire incident.
"I got a red card for no reason, I don't know why," he said. "The referee says I started the whole thing, but I was the only one ending on the floor, so how could I have started it?"
