Hector Bellerin sent off as mass brawl breaks out in pre-season friendly match

Sam Cooper
Hector Bellerin
Hector Bellerin was sent off then immediate brought back on in the bizarre pre-season friendly.

Hector Bellerin was at the centre of an on-field scrap as a pre-season friendly between Real Betis and Como turned out to be not so friendly.

Cesc Fabregas’ team were leading 2-0 as the game went into first-half injury time, but it erupted into a brawl as Pablo Fornals and Maximo Perrone went after each other.

The former West Ham player Fornals squared up to Perrone, with the latter pushing him away. Fornals then took a swing and hit Perrone on the jaw, which lit the fuse as Betis players swarmed Perrone while Fornals was dragged away.

Cucho Hernandez was then seen flying in and trying to Superman punch Perrone but missed and hit his own team-mate Nathan in the face.

 

Eventually, coaching staff ran onto the pitch to separate the players, but the incident was not over there as former Arsenal full-back Bellerin went to speak to the referee, only to get himself sent off.

The 30-year-old was seen arguing with the referee, who clearly had enough and brandished the red. However, that red was later reversed before the end of the first half.

Bellerin also received a kick in the back of the head from Borja Iglesias.

In the end, the game finished 3-2 to Como despite Manuel Pellegrini’s side mounting a comeback in the second half.

This weekend, Fabregas will return to Barcelona for a pre-season friendly against the Spanish club but one player who won’t be part of the squad is Dele Alli, who has been told to train on his own as Como look to sell the player.

The 29-year-old moved to Como in January, hoping to rejuvenate his career, but he didn’t play a game past March. Now, Fabregas has told him he is no longer in his plans.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said it was a “shame” to see Alli left out of the squad after such a promising start.

“Wow, what a shame that is, isn’t it? That’s another conundrum that you’re looking at.

“I saw an interview they had in the documentary with José Mourinho — that hit home. Mourinho was like Mystic Meg, the way it all panned out.

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“I think there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes with Dele. I think it’s a reminder that players aren’t superhuman.

“They are real human beings who have issues, who have problems. If those aren’t addressed, if they’re not helped along the way, or if they’re not open to help, it can lead to situations like we’ve seen with Dele.

“At one point in his career, people were saying — numbers-wise — he was outperforming Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes… like, ridiculous. The trajectory was like: ‘Woof!’

“He’s obviously kind of fallen off a cliff, but I think the reasons are a lot deeper than we can see.”

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Arsenal Cesc Fabregas

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