Peter Odemwingie sent off for Rotherham for shocking elbow on Leeds’ Liam Cooper
A longer ban will surely follow for former West Brom and Stoke star, who inexplicably landed a flying elbow on Cooper during Championship clash
PETER ODEMWINGIE was sent off for a horrific forearm smash while playing for Rotherham United against Leeds this evening.
The former Stoke and West Brom star inexplicably landed a cross between an elbow and a punch in the 29th minute as his relegation-threatened Millers were 1-0 to Garry Monk's resurgent Leeds.
Keep up to date with ALL the EFL news, gossip, transfers and goals on our dedicated page plus fixtures, results and analysis
Nigerian international Odemwingie, who signed for Kenny Jackett's Rotherham in October on a short term deal until January where he has not yet scored, already had the ball in the net - but it was ruled out for offside.
Then Leeds striker Chris Wood put his side ahead - and perhaps out of frustration he landed the blow on opposition central defender Liam Cooper while chasing down a long ball from Darnell Fisher.
It was senseless and reckless, and was instantly shown a red by referee Stuart Attwell - despite his bizarre protestations.
related stories
Unsurprisingly, fans were bemused as to why he launched so needlessly into Cooper when his side needed all the help they could get, having had Greg Halford stretchered off in the fourth minute.
Leeds looked to have cemented a place in the top six just before the break when Souleymane Doukara put his side 2-0 up against the rock bottom Rotherham.
Odemwingie told The Sun back when he signed that his short-term move to Rotherham will “help me get back to where I want to be”.
He also recently told SunSport of his willingness to start from scratch in a bid to revive his career, which saw him out of contract after his Stoke release.
He said: “I will play my way, starting from scratch, to get back to whatever level that I can. I need a window to show what I can still do.
“I’m just a big kid who misses football.
“I want to serve a purpose and show people you don’t have to give up, that I will absolutely 100 per cent go down a level – there is nothing to hide.”
Afterwards, Odemwingie tweeted saying he was "unlucky" and that he "didn't mean it".