10 Craziest World Cup Red Cards

10. José Batista (1986)

It was the 1986 World Cup and Uruguay’s defender, José Batista, had helped his country qualify for the tournament with a vital goal, but he was about to go from hero to zero with one of the most memorable and shocking challenges in World Cup history.

The incident occurred in a group stage match between Uruguay and Scotland. It was the final group game, with Uruguay requiring a draw or win to safely secure their passage to the next round, but their chances of success took a huge blow when Batista flew feet-first into the back of Scottish midfielder Gordon Strachan in the opening minute.

To be precise, only 56 seconds of the game had been played when Batista lunged, studs-up, into Strachan’s calves, sending the Scot tumbling to the ground. The ref had no choice but to send Batista off, and his record for the fastest World Cup sending off still stands to this day. The game went on to end 0-0 but was plagued by nasty challenges and unsportsmanlike time-wasting on the part of the Uruguayans.