Not only did Bazhe Ilijoski get two quick yellow cards for Gifu, thus leading to a sending off, he also had a teammate snatch the ball away from him when it came to who would take a penalty.

In the 54th minute, with Gifu trailing 0:1 at home against Ehime, they were given a penalty when Kazuki Someya was fouled inside the area.  The ball ultimately landed in Ilijoski’s hands as the likely penalty kick taker, only for an animated Someya, who had won the penalty, to snatch the ball away from Ilijoski.  Bazhe made an attempt to hold on to the ball, but Someya slapped the ball out and took the spot kick.  To his credit, Someya did convert the penalty for the lone Gifu goal in a game that would finish 1:1.

Less than 10 minutes later, in the 62nd minute, Ilijoski was shown his second yellow card, leading to a sending off.  Earlier in the 2nd half, Ilijoski was upset with the referee when Bazhe was called for a foul that cancelled a Gifu goal.  After that moment, the referee had little tolerance for Ilijoski and would penalize him for the smallest of offenses, leading to two quick yellow cards and a dismissal.

The Gifu vs. Ehime encounter was the 40th round of the Japanese second division season.  Gifu is very close to being relegated to the third division with just two rounds remaining until the end of the season.  Gifu, who is in 21st place in the 22 team league, is trailing the 20th ranked team by four points.  They will need to win the final two games, coupled with help elsewhere, to somehow avoid relegation.  With his red card on Sunday, Ilijoski will miss the next game with a suspension.

The 29-year-old Ilijoski moved to Gifu in July of this year from Macedonian side Rabotnichki.