A former Premier League midfielder was allowed to play on in a game despite receiving a red card in a bizarre moment that saw managers convince the referee to let him continue
Everton flop Davy Klassen was sent off for Ajax but was incredibly allowed to play on.
Klassen, who endured a wretched spell in the Premier League between 2017 and 2018, turned out for Ajax in a friendly game against Bundesliga side Stuttgart where he appeared to overstep the competitiveness of the occasion. The 31-year-old was shown a straight red card after committing a nasty foul in the 56th minute.
However, the Dutchman was astonishingly allowed to continue playing after both managers agreed it would be more beneficial for their teams to continue playing with 11 players each. The mid-season friendly saw Ajax trailing 2-1 at the time.
The remarkable scenes saw Ajax manager Francesco Farioli and Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeness come together to discuss the situation. With both teams working on their fitness and tactical routines during the winter break, Stuttgart agreed that playing with a man advantage would not be beneficial.
After conferring with the referee, Klaasen was allowed to return to the action as he walked back onto the pitch in a bizarre moment rarely seen. Klassen’s lunge sparked a fracas but with no serious harm seemingly done to his opponent, the game calmed down and continued with 22 players as former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom scored an equaliser with the game ending 2-2.
The experienced midfielder is in his third spell with Ajax having first left the club to join the Toffees in a reported £23.6million deal, but he featured just 16 times in his only season at Goodison Park before he was sold to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.
Klassen re-joined Ajax in 2020 where he stayed for three years before moving to Inter Milan in another tricky personal season for him, playing just 13 times in Serie A as Inter won the Scudetto. He returned to Amsterdam for the third time at the beginning of the season and has six goals and two assists to his name so far this season.
Ajax return to Eredivisie action next Saturday against rock bottom RKC Waalwijk in the ideal fixture to put immediate pressure onto league leaders PSV Eindhoven, who sit six points clear of the Amsterdam giants.
Stuttgart head to Augsburg on Sunday as they look to climb into the European places following a stuttering start to the season that leaves them in 10th place nearing the campaign’s halfway mark.