Lazio were reduced to 10 men just 15 minutes into their Europa Conference League play-off with CFR Cluj, as Patric was shown a harsh straight red card by English referee Craig Pawson.
The game had barely started when Ermal Krasniqi rode two challenges as he dribbled forward from midfield and was brought down unceremoniously by Patric.
It was a good 10-15 yards outside the penalty area and other Lazio defenders were in the vicinity, but Pawson still judged it to be a clear scoring opportunity.
Patric and the Stadio Olimpico crowd were in shock when the referee reached for his pocket and extracted not a yellow card, but a red one.
VAR evaluated the incident, but couldn’t really intervene to correct the decision, because it was taken by the official on the pitch and the replays would not have changed his interpretation of the situation.
It is the first time Pawson has shown a red card this season, after 111 yellows in 25 competitive matches.