Not all sending off’s come from malicious intent. In the 0-0 draw between Sochaux and Saint Etienne, a strong tackle from Kurt Zouma turned out quite badly, as his leg swept under Thomas Guerbert and broke his leg, which got the young centre back sent off after less than 29 minutes of football.

Zouma actually won the ball with his right foot as he slid into the tackle, but his left leg, tucked next to his body, clipped the unbalanced Guerbert too strongly and quickly for the Sochaux player to avoid getting injured. His leg crashed on the ground awkwardly, and the angle of the way he hit the pitch had more to do with his injury than Zouma’s actual contact.

In any case, Zouma, 19 and scouted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester United and Real Madrid, was automatically sent off by the referee, deciding the tackle was vicious in any case.

Sochaux also had a player sent off in the match that ended without any goals, as Petrus Boumal Mayega picked up a second yellow card in the 73rd minute, leaving both teams with 10 men till the end of the match.

Among all the talk of his next team, Zouma has also been mentioned as a candidate for Lyon, his current club’s biggest rivals. To that speculation he replied only by saying he’ll never play for Lyon, and that’s that. He also might not be playing for two or three matches if the FFF decide he deserves more than the usual one match suspension.