A reminder that fourth officials hear everything

In the Melbourne Derby, bitter rivals Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City offered fans an aggressive match. But what happened in the late stages of it left many fans and pundits scratching their heads.

The Victory were able to grab a late lead following an own goal by defender Manny Muscat. In response to the goal, City players exploded towards the referee to argue that the match-deciding goal was a foul, stating that Victory forward Besart Berisha was offside and impeded City keeper Dean Bouzanis’ vision.

In response to the goal, City called Tim Cahill off the bench to find a late equalizer for the club. As the 37-year-old patiently awaited his chance to enter the match, something strange happened.

The referee gave the substitute a red card.

As you’d expect, fans and players were outraged at the decision. No one could understand why the former Australia captain was sent to the locker room before he came on.

As tempers settled, it was announced later that Cahill swore under his breath. The fourth official heard him and alerted the main official, leading to Cahill’s red card.

The Melbourne Victory ended up winning the match off of the iffy goal and man advantage in the final minutes. Cahill has earned a one-match suspension and will miss this weekend’s match against the Brisbane Roar. He has apologized for his reaction on Instagram.

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