Dempsey rips up ref's notebook as Seattle finish with seven men

Former Fulham striker Clint Dempsey saw red in more ways than one after he was sent off for tearing up the referee's notebook on an embarrassing night for his Seattle Sounders team, who finished their cup tie against Portland Timbers with only seven men on the pitch.

Dempsey lost the plot in the second period of extra time of the US Open Cup match, with the Sounders trailing 2-1.

The Sounders were in danger of losing inside 90 minutes after they lost Brad Evans to a red card in normal time, but former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins equalised late on to send the game into extra time.

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However, Martins then departed on a stretcher and could not be replaced as the Sounders had already used all three substitutes.

With Dempsey's team now down to nine men and once again trailing by the odd goal with less than ten minutes to go, another of the Sounders got his marching orders. This time it was Micheal Aziri who was sent off for an apparent elbow, a decision that caused Dempsey to blow his top.

Marching up to the referee Daniel Radford he grabbed his notebook and threw it to the ground. He then picked it up again and tore it to pieces. Unsurprisingly he too was shown a red card but appeared astonished and had to be dragged away from the official.