Former Man Utd star given four-match ban after fight with security guard at Club World Cup

Boca Juniors’ clash with Benfica turned ugly on Monday as three players were sent off – including former Manchester United star Ander Herrera – who has been banned for four games after fighting with a security guard

Former Manchester United star Ander Herrera has been handed a four-match ban after he was sent off for fighting with a security guard in Boca Juniors’ Club World Cup opener against Benfica.

The 2-2 draw on Monday was a tense affair as three players were dismissed in total, with Jorge Figal joining Herrera in receiving an early bath, while Andrea Belotti was sent off for Benfica.

Herrera was given his marching orders just before half-time after attempting to barge his way through to speak to the referee while he was in the middle of a VAR review.

The former Spain international had to be held back by security officials and referee Cesar Arturo Ramos reached for his back pocket and issued the red card after being informed of the player’s conduct.

Herrera had already been substituted at the time after hobbling off in the 20th minute due to an injury.

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The Argentine club confirmed that Herrera and Figal – who was sent off in the 88th minute for a foul on Florentino Luis – have both been banned for four games, pouring doubt on whether they will appear in the competition again.

However, Boca Juniors said they would appeal against the length of the bans, with Ole reporting that the club have questioned why Belotti was only given a two-match ban for a high boot on Ayrton Costa.

The South American side hope they can at least have Figal back for the knockout stages, should they reach it, if his ban is reduced. As it stands, neither player would be allowed to return until the semi-finals.

Herrera’s red card comes as the latest set-back to the 35-year-old midfielder, who spent five seasons at Old Trafford and played 189 times. Since joining Boca earlier this year, he has been plagued by injury issues.

His injury setback against Benfica came just a month after he was forced off against Independiente in the Argentinian league and was left in tears.

It was the last of three injury problems in consecutive games, having suffered a hamstring on his debut in January. He was then unable to continue after being brought on in the next game against Newell’s.

Herrera was a popular figure during his time at Manchester United as he helped the club win the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League during his stint at Old Trafford – after joining from Athletic Bilbao for around £30m. He later joined PSG in 2019, spending two seasons in Paris before returning to boyhood club Athletic Bilbao for another three years.

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