Beckham Blamed For Madrid's CL Exit

David Beckham's injury-time sending-off against Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match could turn out to be one of the most expensive errors of his career.

As a result of Madrid's departure from the tournament, David Beckham is being blamed by some for the club's exit.

Even though he never played in the 3-1 defeat by Monaco, Beckham's sending off is seen by many as the turning point in the clash.

This is not the first time Beckham has been blamed for something like this, as his sending-off for England in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina has not been forgotten.

Beckham picked up his yellow card and subsequent suspension for what appeared to be a needless tackle deep into injury time.

On Tuesday night, Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz was forced to put together a makeshift midfield pairing of Guti and Borja Fernandez. As it turned out, they could not fill the void and Beckham's absence was a key factor in the loss

Some writers are suggesting that Beckham had planned the sending off a in order to ensure he would make the trip to England to face either play Arsenal or Chelsea in the semi-finals.

"In the 91st minute of the first leg, Beckham forced the booking to have a clean slate for the semi-finals," wrote Marca columnist Juan Ignacio Gallaerdo.

"Clearly the Englishman (or whoever advised him to provoke the suspension) took it for granted Monaco were out," he added.