Referee Kicks Soccer Player Out of Match for Farting in His Direction

A referee kicked Swedish soccer player Adam Lindin Ljungkvist out of a match for farting in his direction.

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There’s a fine art to farting while playing a professional sport without getting into trouble for it. Just ask Shaquille O’Neal, who once broke down the rules for farting on an NBA bench, or Von Miller, who has paid out a lot of money for farting during Broncos’ practices. Or, go ahead and ask Swedish soccer player Adam Lindin Ljungkvist about the consequences of ripping one at the wrong time. He just found out what can happen if you’re not careful about when you pass gas.

Ljungkvist was playing in a match held between Jarna SK’s reserve team and Pershagens SK in Sweden recently when he decided to let one loose while arguing with a referee. The ref caught wind of it—literally—and accused Ljungkvist of "unsportsmanlike behavior." He then handed Ljungkvist a yellow card, his second of the match, and kicked him out. All that for...farting?

Yup. Ljungkvist explained why he chose to fart when he did while speaking with Länstidningen Södertälje​ after the match. "I had a bad stomach, so I simply let go," he said. "Then I received two yellow cards and then red. Yes, I was shocked, it’s the strangest thing I have ever experienced in football."

Ljungkvist then continued with what is easily the most thorough explanation we have ever heard for a single fart. "I asked the referee, ‘What, am I not allowed to break wind a little?’" he said. "‘No,’ he replied...I don’t get it but maybe he thought I farted in my hand and threw the fart at him. But I did not.”

Opposing player Kristoffer Linde also chimed in after the match and revealed how he heard the fart play out. "I was standing a good distance away, but I heard the fart loud and clear," he said. "It’s the strangest thing I’ve seen on a pitch, and I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old."

The ref who kicked Ljungkvist out, Danny Kako, gave his side of things as well. He labeled Ljungkvist's flatulence a "deliberate provocation" and said he farted "on purpose." He also added that he has kicked a player out for urinating in front of him, too.

"Once there was a player who stood and peed next to the pitch," Kako said. "I showed him a yellow card, too."

Doesn't being a soccer ref in Sweden sound like a blast?

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