Former Hearts ace Bobby Burns was caught up in an incredible scene last night after Glentoran goalkeeper Aaron McCarey was sent off for lashing out at the Northern Irishman – despite being on the same team.
McCarey lost the plot in the wake of Coleraine striker Cathair Friel scoring to level the game with 10 minutes left, rushing out of his goal and striking the former Hearts man and grabbing his shirt as he lay prone on the turf.
BIG TALKING POINT 😲@Glentoran goalkeeper Aaron McCarey sees red for lashing out at team-mate Bobby Burns during their side's 2-2 draw with Coleraine at the Oval.
Report & reaction 👉 https://t.co/DDQkyaJAGB#bbcfootball #BBCIrishPrem pic.twitter.com/mRIhCw86wP
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) October 16, 2021
Burns had gifted possession to Coleraine in the middle of the pitch in the lead-up to the goal, sparking the keeper’s angry response, but there can be no excusing his violent outburst – particularly against his own teammate.
Glentoran players Patrick McClean and Rhys Marshall separated their teammates – one of them throwing the ball off the keeper’s back – before Aaron McCarey was unsurprisingly shown a straight red by referee Andrew Davey.
The game finished 2-2 with Friel’s strike rescuing a point for Coleraine after a Jay Donnelly double turned had Glentoran ahead following Conor McKendry’s 15th-minute opener.
Burns joined Hearts in 2018, signing a three-year deal at Tynecastle but struggled to force his way into the first-team before heading out on loan a year after his arrival.
After his loan spell was cut short due to Covid, Burns would leave Hearts in the summer of 2020, returning to Northern Ireland (via a brief spell in England) and suffering a double leg-break shortly after making the move to Glentoran in late 2020.
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