
Former Man Utd star, 35, subbed off after 20 minutes then red carded on bench in nightmare Club World Cup debut
FORMER Manchester United star Ander Herrera was shown a red card on the BENCH during wild scenes in Boca Juniors' Club World Cup opener.
Herrera, 35, was subbed off just 20 minutes into his Argentinian side's 2-2 draw with Benfica - before being one of THREE players sent off.
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Herrera was forced off after 20 minutes with an injury, before Boca Juniors quickly took a 2-0 lead seven minutes later in Miami.
But chaos struck on the brink of half-time when former Manchester City star Nicolas Otamendi won a soft penalty for Benfica, when Carlos Palacios was adjudged to have made slight contact in the air.
An incensed Herrera was fuming with the decision to send referee Cesar Arturo Ramos to the VAR monitor.
In shocking scenes, the injured midfielder tried to shove his way through security to confront the ref while he was in a middle of a VAR review.
Herrera had to be held back by security guards, before being shown a straight red card at the Hard Rock Stadium - which will host seven games at the 2026 World Cup.
His former Man Utd and PSG team-mate Angel Di Maria, 37, scored the spot-kick in the third minute of first half injury time, before more fireworks in the second half.
Both teams were reduced to 10 men as tempers flared, with Benfica's Andrea Belotti and Boca's Jorge Figal also seeing red.
Belotti, who was a half-time sub, was given his marching orders in the 72nd minute for a dangerous high boot on the back of a Boca player's head.
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Ramos originally gave Belotti a yellow card but upgraded it after being called over to review by VAR.
After things settled for a few minutes, Otamendi completed the stunning comeback with a bullet header in the 84th minute.
Chelsea launch Club World Cup campaign with 2-0 victory over LAFC in Atlanta
But Bocas were down to nine-men just four minutes later after Figal was late and reckless with a challenge near the touch line, right in front of a group of Benfica players warming up.
A brawl threatened to kick off between the bench and players, before the officials intervened.
It was one of the busiest games of the Club World Cup so far, with 55,574 people in the crowd in a sea of yellow-shirted Bocas fans.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's 2-0 win over MLS side LAFC was played out in front of a near-empty stadium in Atlanta.
Bocas are in Group C with Bayern Munich and Auckland City, with the German champions thrashing the New Zealand side 10-0 on Sunday.
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