Super Falcons star recalls the moments she was red carded at Women’s World Cup

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was a bittersweet experience for Super Falcons star Deborah Abiodun.

Her World Cup started with a great performance against Canada in the midfield but it soon turned into unhappiness as Abiodun was red-carded against.

  In an interview with The Punch Newspapers, Abiodun recalled what when went through her mind when she got the red card.

“Actually, after the referee gave me a yellow card, I was wondering what happened, like it happened so fast, like three seconds, it just happened so fast. Then she was called, she stopped the game, and she was going for the VAR check. In my mind, I was thinking ‘Okay, maybe she wants to reverse the yellow card’, and the next thing I saw on the big screen was a red card. 

”My heart stopped beating at that point, for like two seconds. I think it should be one of the scariest moments of my life. I was so scared of what was going to happen. It was my first game and I was getting a red card I didn’t want to be the reason the team would eventually lose the match because everyone had put in all their efforts.

“And we were getting to that point where we felt we could actually leave with a point and all of a sudden I got a red card, which meant my team was going to be a man down. It would have been heartbreaking if we had lost that match, so, at that point, I really felt bad. I was so scared and I could not continue watching the match. I did not want Canada to score us because we had put in a lot of work to get to that point and to get that result.”

On missing the next game Abiodun said, “After I missed the next game against Australia, I was hopeful that we were going to qualify. I was like, ‘Okay, one more to go.’ I was so excited, you know,  because it’s not easy not even being among the team on the match day, not being with the team in general, just kind of being isolated, it wasn’t easy for me at all.  Then after learning that I was going to miss the third match, I felt really sad, it felt like the heartbreak was renewed, it was a fresh injury again. I had to be strong and regardless, the team was doing well and I got a lot of encouragement from officials, from players and their supportive prayers,

and even from back home. My family was there for me. And the good thing is the team was still doing well, so, I still kept my hope very high and I’m very proud of the team.”