Socceroos star Brett Holman received a costly red card as AZ Alkmaar surrendered top spot in the Dutch league on Sunday.
Socceroos star Brett Holman received a costly red card as AZ Alkmaar surrendered top spot in the Dutch league on Sunday.
AZ were held to a 2-2 draw at Vitesse as Holman was sent from the pitch, fuming, in the 63rd minute when he was shown a second yellow for a tackle on Renato Ibarro, deemed a trip.
The decision angered the Australian and AZ manager Gertjan Verbeek, leaving the side with 10 men for the last half hour of the match.
Holman's teammate Niklas Moisander later criticised the referee's decision.
"I think we (would) have won with 11 men," the Finn told De Telegraaf after the game.
"But Brett Holman was an easy second yellow card.
"The referee seemed to occasionally lose. He dealt the cards very easy."
Aston Villa-bound Holman, 28, claimed two of the six yellow cards shown in Sunday's match with four going to AZ, as the team slipped into second place behind Ajax, who defeated Heracles Almelo 6-0 on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the Dutch Eredivisie, Australian Tommy Oar came off the bench for Utrecht on Friday to secure a 3-2 victory over Excelsior with a goal in the 89th minute.
In England in the nPower Championship, Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury.
The Sydney-born 27-year old missed this round's 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and has joined a long list of his countrymen sidelined from the League due to injury.
Jedinak will not return to the pitch for some time after sustaining a groin injury during the club's loss to Derby last week, clubcall.com reported.
A handful of Aussies in the Championship are out due to injury, including Middlesbrough's Rhys Williams, who the club hopes will return late in the season from an ankle ligament injury.
Williams' teammate and fellow Australian Scott McDonald overcame medial ligament damage to come on as a substitute in Middlesbrough's 1-1 draw with top-of-the-table Brighton.
Reading remain in second place on the Championship table after their 4-2 win over West Ham United, thanks in part to their Australian keeper Adam Federici and his impressive five-save performance.
The 27-year old had a tireless 90 minutes at Upton Park on Saturday, which saw him concede goals in the eighth and 77th minutes, but took clean saves including that of a James Tomkins' shot early in the second half.
Mark Schwarzer and Tim Cahill both enjoyed wins in the Barclays Premier League as Fulham and Everton beat Norwich and West Bromwich Albion.
In Germany, Nikita Rukavytsya played a full match as Hertha Berlin lost 4-1 to Wolfsburg.