A FORMER Premier League star was incredibly sent off in a bizarre optical illusion.
And it proved crucial as his side fell to a shock defeat in their Champions League opener.
Eric Garcia started in midfield for Barcelona as they took on Monaco.
However, his game lasted just TEN minutes before he was given his marching orders… or was he?
Garcia was put under pressure by a sloppy pass from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
And that allowed Takumi Minamino to pick his pocket.
Ex-Manchester City man Garcia then brought down the former Liverpool forward in a cynical foul as Minamino closed in on goal.
It was a blatant goalscoring opportunity and with the incident taking place outside of the penalty area, the offence warranted a red card.
But did the referee agree?
Well, it was not immediately clear.
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That is because official Allard Lindhout blew his whistle to award the free-kick and sprinted over to the two players sprawled out on the turf.
He then reached for his back pocket and produced a card.
However, on first viewing on the TV cameras, the card looked yellow.
The commentator clearly thought so, too.
Sam Matterface, calling the action for TNT Sports, said: “It’s just a yellow card. That’s a massive let-off for Eric Garcia.
“Well, it looked like the yellow card came out. I was almost convinced the red card was incoming. The VAR will certainly check it.”
Interestingly, as soon as the referee brandished the card above his head, it was the Barcelona players – rather than the Monaco stars – who immediately surrounded him and protested.
That would therefore imply they were not happy with the decision – and surely would not have done so if Garcia escaped with only a yellow.
Then the official Champions League graphic flashed up on the screen stating Garcia had received a direct red card – as he trudged off the pitch towards the tunnel.
Matterface added: “Well, I wonder if the referee has brought out the wrong-coloured card because there’s absolutely no intention to win the ball and that would ordinarily be a red card.
“We are being told on our information system it’s a yellow card but I think he’s walking here.
“That’s a red card, a direct red card, that’s the right decision.
“I think the referee pulled out the wrong card.”
However, on further investigation, although the card seemed to be yellow on the screen, that actually appeared to be another footballing optical illusion due to a reflection of light.
In fact, the referee DID pull out the red card.
That was confirmed by photographs from the scene with Garcia and Minamino lying on the floor as the referee held up the card.
The video footage also showed him putting the red back into his shorts during the commotion on the field.
And Garcia’s early bath clearly had an impact as Maghnes Akliouche put Monaco ahead six minutes later.
Lamine Yamal equalised just before the half-hour mark with his first Champions League goal.
But George Ilenikhena grabbed the winner for the Ligue 1 side 20 minutes from time to hand Barca the nightmare start to the new campaign.
It was the 18-year-old’s first Monaco goal – and prompted hilarious scenes in the CBS Sports studios as Jamie Carragher butchered his attempt to pronounce Ilenikhena’s name.
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