On This Day – 5th June
It was on this day back in 1968 that Alan Mullery got the most unwanted record of his career, becoming the first England player to be sent off.
Mullery was given his marching orders in the 89th minute of a foul-tempered match with Yugoslavia in the 1968 European Championship Semi-Final.
The Yugoslavs set out to frustrate the World Champions from the start and fouled an England player at any given opportunity.
Eventually Alan Mullery snapped and lashed out at an opponent and the red card that followed was the first that an England player received after 424 matches.
England lost the game 1-0 and Yugoslavia lost 2-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw in the Final.