In an amateur league match in Cross Farm, a town in northern England, a player shouted, "Fuck me, that was loud," after the referee blew his whistle to start the game. 

Two Seconds and Sent Off

The incident occurred just two seconds into the game between Cross Farm and Taunton East Reach Wanderers, with Lee Todd as the main character in this unprecedented record.

"I wasn’t insulting the referee or anyone. I just said something to myself. It nearly blew my ear off. Football is a man's game, and players curse all the time," Todd said in an interview with The Times on that October afternoon in 2000.

His coach, Mark Head, also questioned the referee’s decision: "Players should be sent off for insulting the referee or other players, but referees should also use common sense."

Despite the controversy, Todd was fined 27 pounds and suspended for 35 days, though he found some relief as his team still won the match 11-2.

The Bellingham Case and the England-Spain Difference

This story has resurfaced after Jude Bellingham was sent off on Saturday at El Sadar, when the Real Madrid midfielder was ejected for saying "fuck off."

The meaning of this phrase depends on the context: when directed at someone, it’s an aggressive way of saying "get lost", often translated as "go to hell", whereas when used in general frustration, it could mean something like "damn it."

In the Premier League, it is rare to see players sent off for saying this phrase, as it is common football slang. Even Cristiano Ronaldo, in an interview with El Chiringuito, admitted that in England, referees don’t usually penalize its use, unlike in Spain, where officials are much stricter.

One of the most recent incidents involving this expression happened last August when Cristian Romero and Jamie Vardy had a heated exchange during a match between Leicester and Tottenham. The English striker told the Argentine "fuck off," but no action was taken.

According to the Football Association (FA) disciplinary code, any player using inappropriate language can be sent off, suspended for future matches, and fined, in addition to potentially having to attend educational courses if the governing body deems it necessary.

Just this week, referee Michael Oliver sent off Arne Slot, Liverpool's head coach, for what the FA described as "using abusive language and/or displaying abusive behavior" at the end of the match against Everton.

It remains unclear exactly what the Dutch manager said, but he has until next Wednesday to present his defense and could face a multi-game suspension if found guilty.