Antalyaspor winger Shoya Nakajima had an afternoon to forget on Saturday after he was sent off just seconds into his home debut, with his family watching on in disbelief in the stands.
Nakajima, 28, joined the Turkish club on a free transfer from Porto this summer and made his debut for the club in their 1-0 defeat away at Kayserispor last week – coming on as a late substitute with eight minutes remaining.
He started from the bench again on Saturday against Adana Demirspor but was brought on shortly before the hour mark with his team trailing 1-0 – with both sides already reduced to 10 men.
But his home debut for the club would end in disaster, with the Japan international shown a straight red card just moments after coming on.
Eager to get involved in the game, Nakajima slides in and catches opposition player Jonas Svensson with a badly-timed challenge.
He immediately holds his hands up and apologises to Svensson, with the referee swiftly awarding the Antalyaspor winger a yellow card.
However, the referee is then instructed by VAR to review his decision on the pitchside monitor.
Shoya Nakajima makes his debut for Antalyaspor ✅
— x - Dan Orlowitz (@aishiterutokyo) September 18, 2022
On the pitch for no longer than 20 seconds before committing a late tackle... 😬
...for which he's shown a straight red card after VAR 💀
And the broadcaster had a camera on his family/friends 🥶 pic.twitter.com/6fcKfOVIqx
He then overturns his original call and decides to award Nakajima a straight red card, to the surprise of the winger.
To make matters worse for Nakajima, his family and friends were watching in the stands, according to Japan Times journalist Dan Orlowitz.
Their shocked reaction is even caught on camera, with one female family member or friend seen holding her head in her hands after the incident.
The second red card would end up costing Antalyaspor, who went on to lose the match 3-0.
Horrible challenge tbf. Ouch.
— Jamie O'Neill (@jamiebhoy67) September 18, 2022
Agreed. Bad tackle, but yellow seems appropriate.
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) September 18, 2022
thats a very soft red that. late and a yellow.
— Michael Owens (@MickyOwens88) September 18, 2022
They are now 13th in the Turkish Super Lig after a run of four consecutive defeats.
Nakajima's brief appearances has been described as the "worst debut in history" by some fans on social media.
However, others believe the referee was wrong to send Nakajima off.
"That was a very soft red, think the ref was correct with the initial yellow," wrote one supporter on Twitter.
While another added: "That's a very soft red that. Late and a yellow."
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Featured Image Credit: beIN SPORTS
Topics: Football, Turkish Super Lig, Japan
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