The most memorable red card in the history of the English national side was probably handed to David Beckham during the 1998 World Cup.
The midfielder was frustrated by challenge put on him by Diego Simeone and reacted by flicking his boot out at the Argentine, who made sure with his dramatic reaction that the incident was seen by referee Kim Milton Nielsen. The Dane instantly dismissed Beckham and the Three Lions went on to exit the competition on penalties.
It was a shocking backlash that Beckham received upon his return to England, but he eventually won over the critics, thanks in part to his hugely important late goal against Greece that saw Sven-Goran Eriksson's team qualify for the 2002 World Cup.
Yet, when Austria visited Old Trafford for a World Cup qualifier nine years ago today, Beckham made the headlines again for the wrong reasons as he became the first player to be sent off twice while on England duty.
The encounter was a vital one for England, who knew that a victory would secure their participation in Germany for the main tournament, while it would also end any chance of the Austrian side advancing through.
Having dominated the opening exchanges, the hosts broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. Peter Crouch's flick on found Michael Owen just inside the area, but as the striker looked to get a shot away, he was pulled back by Paul Scharner. Frank Lampard stepped up to take the resultant penalty, which he converted successfully.
England made a lacklustre start to the second half and their sloppiness was almost punished with 56 minutes on the clock when Roland Linz lobbed goalkeeper Paul Robinson, but the Austrian striker's clever effort cannoned to safety off the crossbar.
Then, just one minute later, it was over to Beckham, who was cautioned for catching Andreas Ibertsberger in the face with his arm as the two jumped to contest a header. Within 60 seconds of that clash, the England skipper was back in the dressing room after Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo adjudged that he had tripped Ibertsberger.
Beckham was angered by the actions of the full-back, insisting that he had dived. Replays showed that the contact between the pair was minimal at most, but having just been booked, the England winger was unwise to slide in like he did.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, it was England that created the better chances during the closing stages. Lampard twice shot from distance, but Jurgen Macho was equal to those efforts. They were not costly failings, though, as the home team held out to claim all three points.
Speaking after the match, Beckham expressed his anger at the decision to send him off: "The first one was harsh, but the second one was even harsher. Everyone who has seen it has said the same. I couldn't understand it. I don't think it was a sending off at all."
Meanwhile, manager Eriksson added: "From the bench I thought it was very harsh. He had his arms up for the first one, but he was not out to hurt anyone. It was a foul, but for the second I don't think he even touched him."
ENGLAND: Robinson; Young, Terry, Campbell (Ferdinand), Carragher; Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Cole (King); Crouch, Owen (Richardson)
AUSTRIA: Macho; Dober, Scharner, Stranzl, Ibertsberger (Lasnik); Schopp (Kuljic), Aufhauser, Kiesenebner, Weissenberger (Sariyar), Ivanschitz; Linz
Liam Apicella
