Notts County footballer sent off for throwing away opponent’s boot

There are many ways for a footballer to be sent off: violent tackles, cynical professional fouls, dissent to a referee.

But Notts County midfielder Oliver Norburn might have staked a claim for a truly unique dismissal in a League Two fixture with Chesterfield today.

Already on a booking for an early foul in the lunchtime game at Meadow Lane in Nottingham, Norburn was shown a second yellow card after throwing the boot of an opponent, Armando Dobra, off the pitch.

Dobra, who had opened the scoring minutes earlier, had lost his right boot during a tackle from Norburn on the edge of the Notts County box and play was allowed to continue after no foul was given.

That presented the opportunity for Norburn to pick up Dobra’s boot.

But, instead of handing it back to his opponent as he sat on the turf, the Notts County player inexplicably opted to launch it 30 yards and over the touchline.

Dobra protested on the ground as play carried on, but once the ball went dead, there was action taken by referee Matthew Corlett, who opted to dismiss Norburn. That left the hosts down to 10 men after only 19 minutes.

“It’s absolute madness, I’ve never seen that before,” said former Premier League referee Mike Dean after viewing the incident on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme.

The laws of the game, set out by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), outline a list of cautionable offences and throwing an opponent’s boot is likely to have been interpreted as “unsporting behaviour” given it left Dobra temporarily disadvantaged.

Notts County twice equalised before half-time against Chesterfield, before the 10 men conceded again midway through the second half to lose 3-2.

Norburn’s intervention may have been unprecedented, but it is not the first time footwear has caused controversy in a football match.

During the Netherlands’ match against Romania at Euro 2024, a pair of trainers were spotted in the Romanian penalty area just before Donyell Malen scored the Netherlands’ third goal in a 3-0 win.

The shoes — presumably thrown from the crowd — did not directly interfere with play, although Romania goalkeeper Florian Nita was forced to kick one away before Malen shot.

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