Just a week after a Vietnamese player was banned for 28 matches for an appalling leg-breaking challenge on an opponent, an equally violent lunge resulted in one player receiving his marching orders while another departed the pitch on a stretcher.
Spaniard Rubén Rayos crashed into Rafi Dahan with a terrifying intensity during Maccabi Haifa’s 2-2 draw with Bnei Yehuda. If anything the shuddering challenge was worse than the one that resulted in Tran Dinh Dong receiving his record ban.
Dahan, understandably, was bitter afterwards, saying: “Rayos tried to end my career… I will never forgive what he did to me. Its a crime.”