DTotD: Croatia’s Josip Simunic sent off for vicious flying elbow/trip attack

Given the tense relations and violent history between Croatian and Serbia, the second World Cup qualifier between the two sides this year was always going to a testy affair. With the score even at 1-1, Serbia's Nemanja Matic was sent off for a relatively harmless trip on Ognjen Vukojevic. Five minutes later, Croatia's Josip Simunic even the numbers again with a kamikaze elbow to the back/leg sweep combination move on Miralem Sulejmani.

Sulejmani would've had half the pitch to himself and only the goalkeeper to beat had he gotten past Simunic, so Simunic made sure he didn't. In a way that nearly turned Sulejmani into a pile of dust.

Though both teams converged on the referee, things stayed relatively calm and Simunic casually walked off the pitch. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.