Atletico´s Arda Turan escapes red card after throwing boot at assistant referee

Atletico Madrid’s Arda Turan throws boot at assistant referee, escapes with a yellow card.

Atletico Madrid’s Arda Turan escaped a red card despite throwing his boot at the assistant referee against Barcelona on Wednesday.

The Turkish forward was angered at the non-award of a free-kick early in the second half of the Copa del Rey quarter-final clash.

Having lost his boot in a challenge, he stunned the Vicente Calderon when he picked it up and threw it in the direction of the official.

Even more amazingly, he was only booked for his act of petulance, with referee Jesus Gil Manzano opting to take a lenient approach.

The incident was another sub-plot in an fiery clash, which saw Atletico end the match with nine men after Gabi was sent off following a half-time altercation in the tunnel and Mario Suarez was dismissed for a second booking late on.

Barca ultimately sealed their place in the semi-finals with a 3-2 victory on the night, 4-2 on aggregate, as Neymar’s double was sandwiched by an own goal from Miranda.