Borussia Dortmund star squares up to referee in shocking moment as teammates forced to intervene

Julian Ryerson made sure his first red card was one to forget.

The Norwegian was sent off in a painful 2-1 defeat for Borussia Dortmund against Stuttgart and it's safe to say he didn't take kindly to receiving his marching orders.

Having not received a red card before in his 291-game professional career, the right-back had already picked up a yellow card in the 56th minute before he lashed out at Angelo Stiller.

The two battled for the ball and when Ryerson threw an elbow out, referee Daniel Siebert took no time at all in pulling out a second yellow and then a red in the 89th minute.

Ryerson threw his arms up in outrage and then marched towards the official - appearing to shout ‘f*** you’ repeatedly.

The 27-year-old went head-to-head with Siebert, leading to BVB captain and former Liverpool man Emre Can having to shove him away.

Still not simmered down, the cameras picked up Ryerson still shouting towards the match official as he had to make the unceremonial walk around the pitch back to the tunnel.

There wasn’t much discipline in that area either, with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl angrily arguing with opposition coach Sebastian Hoeness and the fourth official.

Before all this, Stuttgart went 1-0 up thanks to a Waldemar Anton own-goal and a Jeff Chabot header before Julian Brandt grabbed an 81st minute goal.

That consolation was of no use in a particularly brutal defeat for Dortmund.

Anton and BVB striker Serhou Guirassy both played for the away side last season, bringing plenty of extra pleasure to the travelling fans.

And it was also the first match of new Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac, who arrived after the dismissal of Nuri Sahin.

But all of that is nothing compared to what it means for Dortmund’s season, with the German giants now down in 11th in the Bundesliga.

For a team that depends so heavily on European football income, they’re now four points short of the Conference League with 13 games left to play.

There’s also chaos at boardroom level with technical director Sven Mislintat sacked ahead of the game.

Should the Ruhr side fail to qualify for Europe, the 2025/26 campaign would be their first without it since 2010.

Nevertheless, last year's Champions League finalists are still in this season's competition, and face Sporting Lisbon in the knockout play-off round on Tuesday night in their first leg.

Attention for BVB will then towards their league clash with Bochum next Saturday.