AMSTERDAM – Maurice Edu and Bursaspor suffered a rather unlucky Friday, with US midfielder sent off thanks to a pair of questionable yellow cards in a 2-1 defeat at Gaziantepspor.
The former Toronto FC man was enjoying a solid performance in a tie game when he was whistled for the 77th-minute penalty kick foul that would decide the game. Edu was in disbelief after being booked as part of a danger free kick wall and replays seemed to show that any contact with his hand would have come from a quick carom off a neighboring teammate.
Only two minutes after Cenk Tosun put the home side ahead to stay with the ensuing spot kick, Edu was given the gate on the back of what appeared to be another harsh ref decision. Despite what looked to be minimal contact at most in a challenge, an overly dramatic tumble by Gaziantepspor's Bekir Ozan Has convinced the referee to give the American an early shower.
With their first loss in five Süper Lig matches, Bursaspor missed a chance to climb level on points with second-place Fenerbahçe.
Over in Germany's second flight, Joseph Gyau came on for the final eight minutes of St. Pauli's 3-0 home rout of FSV Frankfurt. With their first win in six, the 12th-place Pirates sailed six points clear of the drop zone.
Finally, Tony Taylor went unused as Estoril posted their first ever Liga ZON Sagres win over Sporting Lisbon in a 3-1 home decision. The result lifted the Canaries up to sixth place, four points shy of the last Europa League slot.
