Theo Hernandez incident draws comparisons to Beckham red card in 1998 | OneFootball

Theo Hernandez’s sending off in Milan’s Champions League exit has drawn comparisons to the red card shown to England’s David Beckham during the 1998 World Cup for the impact they had and the immediate reactions they drew.

Theo was sent off for two bookable offences just after half-time in Milan’s 1-1 draw against Feyenoord on Tuesday night, which sealed a 2-1 aggregate defeat and subsequent elimination from the competition.

The first booking came for a silly foul on Anis Hadj-Moussa on the halfway line. The Frenchman was shown his second yellow five minutes into the second half after diving in the penalty area while Milan were still 1-0 up on the night.

The Rossoneri struggled to get themselves back into the tie after being reduced to 10 men, and eventually conceded from a Julian Carranza header in the 73rd minute. A 1-0 scoreline at full-time would have been enough for Milan to take the second leg to extra-time.

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 18: Theo Hernandez #19 of AC Milan clashes with Anis Hadj Moussa of Feyenoord during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between AC Milan and Feyenoord at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 18, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Theo Hernandez draws David Beckham comparisons

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the blame for Milan’s exit has fallen at Theo’s feet, as fans and pundits alike feel that he is a senior, experienced player at this level and should have known better.

La Gazzetta dello Sport have also run an article comparing a number of high-profile, costly mistakes including Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt during the 2006 World Cup final and Beckham’s kick at Diego Simeone during England-Argentina in the 1998 tournament.

The Beckham incident is a particularly similar situation. The feeling is that both red cards were ‘silly’ mistakes, ones that were avoidable, and in the respective situations, both players should have known better.

The language used to describe both incidents has been similar, too: Beckham earning the infamous ‘10 heroic lions, one stupid boy’ headline from the Daily Mirror, while Theo Hernandez was labelled an ‘idiot’ by Pierre van Hooijdonk on Dutch TV after full-time.