In 16 years as a professional footballer, the rightly revered English center forward Gary Lineker made hundreds of appearances for his clubs and 80 international matches, from which he emerged as the national record scorer. But the largest number in Lineker’s sporting biography is a 0 – not a single yellow or even red card is registered in his file. The world association Fifa awarded him an Order of Merit for this, and the no less honorable long-time national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer could certainly have expected a similar award – had he not run into a self-imposed trap out of overzealousness on Tuesday at 9:04 p.m. Until then, his rich life’s work included the distinction of never having been sent off in 864 games for Schalke 04, FC Bayern and the national team, which is all the more remarkable considering his daring goalkeeping play. And now Neuer, 38, arrived too late for the first time, a moment that left the referee no choice. Since the red card for gross unsportsmanlike behavior was introduced in the Bundesliga in 1970, it has been part of everyday football life. In 1999, four field players from SSV Ulm were sent off – a league record. A Welsh footballer is said to have received the fastest red card in history in 2000 – after two seconds.
