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"Crafty" Beckham engineered defender's red card
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-08 09:01 MADRID, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Real Mallorca defender
Sergio Ballesteros has said that he was trapped into getting sent off by David
Beckham during his side's 4-0 league defeat against Real Madrid last Sunday.
 Ballesteros received a second yellow card when he slapped
the England captain on the face during an argument over a foul in the latter
stages of the league match at the Bernabeu.
But television pictures showed that Beckham, who fell to the ground after he
had been struck, had run up to Ballesteros and stood on his foot before the
defender had lashed out at him.
"I fell into Beckham's trap," Ballesteros was quoted as saying by daily Sport
on Friday. "He was craftier than me because his stamp on my foot was not
noticed, but my slap was seen by everyone."
Ballesteros had his first yellow card withdrawn on appeal by the Spanish
Football Federation's Appeals Committee so will be able to play in his side's
next league match at home to Racing Santander.
The defender also struck Barcelona defender Carles Puyol after he was sent
off against the Catalans earlier in the season.
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