Footballer Jason Demetriou is not exactly a household name.

The 33-year-old currently plays for Southend United in the fifth-tier of English football, having previously represented Leyton Orient, AEK Larnaca, Anorthosis Famagusta and Walsall.

With a career path like that, it's understandable that the average football fan would probably be unable to recognise Demetriou if they saw him strolling down the street.

But back in 2018, the right-back became something of a social media sensation. Sadly, it was for all the wrong reasons.

While captaining his country Cyprus in a UEFA Nations League match against Slovenia, Demetriou was guilty of arguably the most blatant red card tackle in the history of professional football.

In the 96th-minute of the encounter, which had already seen two players dismissed from the field of play, the Southend man committed a horrendous foul on Domen Crnigoj.

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Demetriou had absolutely no intention of even attempting to play the ball and instead scythed down his opponent in brutal fashion.

Take a look at the X-rated tackle here...

Video: The most blatant red card challenge ever?

Awful, just awful and Demetriou was lucky that his cowardice didn't result in a serious injury for Crnigoj. Remarkably, the Slovenian winger got back to his feet quickly and barely made a fuss about the premeditated foul.

When Demetriou returned to club duty at Southend, former manager Chris Powell played a video of the tackle in front of the whole squad.

“I played it in front of the players and asked JD to explain himself which he couldn’t really do,” he said.

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We're not surprised that Demetriou was a little bit lost for words to be honest...

Quiz: Can you name the footballer based on their Wikipedia page?