Ex-Premier League striker could face World Cup ban but Cristiano Ronaldo may help save him

Former Premier League striker Jurgen Locadia could miss Curacao’s opening World Cup games after a red card in a friendly.

His nation lost 4-1 at Hampden Park to Scotland, a game which also saw Billy Gilmour suffer an injury that will stop him competing at the World Cup.

BBC Sport

What did Jurgen Locadia do?

With Curacao leading 1-0, Locadia attempted to block a clearance from Aaron Hickey.

But he ended up being initially booked for catching the Brentford player on the foot.

However, VAR had a look and decided that Locadia should be sent off for violent conduct, which comes with a three-game ban, as he was deemed to have elbowed his rival.

It turned the match as well, with Scotland making a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 win.

All of the goals came after the red card as Findlay Curtis, Lawrence Shankland (twice) and Ryan Christie scored.

Will Jurgen Locadia be banned?

But it is the repercussions of that for Locadia that is the main problem.

A three-match ban would see the ex-Brighton & Hove Albion forward miss Curacao’s friendly with Aruba, and their opening two games at the World Cup.

It means that by the time he plays again, they could be out of the competition altogether.

Locadia won’t be involved against Germany or Ecuador but he would return against Ivory Coast in the final group game of Curacao’s World Cup.

That is all unless his nation succeed with an appeal which could reduce it to just one or two games, instead of three.

What did Jurgen Locadia say?

After the match, he swiftly took to Instagram and posted a statement.

It read: “Disappointed with what happened today against Scotland.

“First of all, I want to take responsibility for my actions and accept the referee’s decision. Getting sent off is never something I want, especially in an important match where the team was performing well and leading 1-0 at the time.

“From what I was initially told, the yellow card was for standing on my opponent’s foot. After reviewing the incident, the referee determined that I had used my elbow, which led to the red card. I myself did not feel that my elbow touched the player. I did step on his foot which i told the referee too when it happened.

“I respect the officials and their decision, but I also want to say that anyone who has followed my career knows that I am not that type of player. Over the course of more than 370 professional matches, I have never built a reputation as a foul or violent player.

“I am disappointed because I let my teammates down at a moment when we were playing good football and had the advantage in the game. That is what hurts me the most.

Getty

“I will learn from this moment, continue to support my teammates, and focus on coming back stronger. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and the team.”

Could Cristiano Ronaldo save him?

Cristiano Ronaldo was under threat of missing games at the World Cup after he was handed a red card for violent conduct in a qualifier with the Republic of Ireland.

The Portuguese legend elbowed Dara O’Shea which should have seen him pick up a three-game ban.

He did so, but with the final two games suspended for a year, meaning he only missed a match with Armenia, allowing him to play at the World Cup.

FIFA, it’s understood, took into account that it was Ronaldo’s first red card in 225 international appearances.

A FIFA statement said: “If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately.”

Getty

If Locadia is similarly lucky, he could also get away with a one-game ban.

A host of other players, including Laurent Koscielny, Mario Mandzukic, Phillip Cocu, have also previously seen three-match bans reduced to either one or two games.

What did Dick Advocaat say?

It is a situation that has deprived Dick Advocaat of a vital player, he said after the game: “Until the moment that the player was sent off, we really did well against a good team in Scotland.

“If you go in with a 1-0 lead at half-time, then it’s a little bit easier to accept that.

“So in the second half, it was only defence. But what we had seen in the first half, it was quite optimistic.”

On the actual sending off, the former Sunderland manager said: “The first 50 minutes, he only whistled against us.

Getty Images - Getty

“If you are a good referee, then you can take him out and bring somebody else in. And now we have to wait and see what will happen for the World Cup.

“So that makes it a little bit difficult. He’s a good player for us. A strong player. And we have not that many.”

Locadia in England

Brighton signed Locadia from PSV Eindhoven in 2018 for around £15million.

The striker arrived on the south coast having scored 62 goals for the Dutch side.

He had also represented the Netherlands from every age group up to senior, where he’d been on the bench a few times.

But Locadia could never nail down the starting striker role, and by the time he left, he had made 46 appearances for Brighton, scoring six times.

He is now playing for Miami FC in the United States and has chosen to represent Curacao internationally.

He has 13 caps and one goal so far, but after his red card, he won’t be adding to those until the end of the World Cup group stages.

Stay up to date with all the latest World Cup Winner Odds, World Cup Top Goalscorer Odds, World Cup Group Winner Odds and all the best World Cup Betting Offers and Free Bets in our dedicated betting hub