When is a red card not a red card?

When it means different things in different countries.

Alex Scott was forced to sit out today because the English Football Association (FA) handed him a domestic one-match suspension following his straight red card against Real Betis but Antony got only against Inter.

The rules applied differently to each player due to how their respective national federations govern pre-season disciplinary actions:The FA’s Strict Enforcement: The English FA enforces a rule stating that a straight red card for violent conduct or a serious altercation in any official match (including sanctioned pre-season friendlies) triggers an automatic ban. This penalty specifically forced Scott out of AFC Bournemouth's final warm-up fixture against Mainz today.

Spanish RFEF Loopholes: Conversely, the Spanish FA rules do not mandate that friendly dismissals carry over into subsequent non-competition friendlies unless a referee's report details an extreme, severe assault that requires a FIFA-level intervention. Because Antony’s scuffle did not reach that extreme threshold, Real Betis was completely free to select him.

Essentially, Scott was bound by the stricter domestic regulations of the English FA, while Antony benefited from the more lenient disciplinary overlap policies governing Spanish clubs during pre-season friendlies.