Cristian Bunino sent off after being caught URINATING by the side of the pitch

A former Juventus striker was sent off in Italy's Serie C after being caught urinating by the side of the pitch before coming on.

Cristian Bunino, 26, was set to come off the bench for Lecco at Piacenza after 73 minutes of third-tier action on Sunday.

He tried to discreetly answer the call of nature, but unfortunately, the incident was spotted by a match official, and Bunino was shown a red card before he could come onto the pitch, in accordance with the Italian rulebook.

The match finished goalless, Lecco's third consecutive 0-0 in the league.

Bunino was previously on the books at Juventus, and played 34 games for their under-23s. The Italian was also twice capped for the under-19s national side.

In January of this year, he joined Lecco on loan from Pro Vercelli until the end of next season, and was set to be utilised on Sunday before the bizarre incident.

Lecco manager Luciano Foschi thought it was a harsh punishment for the misdemeanour. The 55-year-old told Gazzetta dello Sport: 'It's the rules and they must be applied, but I was hoping that the officials would use common sense because he didn't offend anyone and no one saw it.

'I was hoping for a yellow card, but the referee didn't make a mistake. And Bunino? In my opinion, he didn't even know what was going to happen.'

Lecco, who currently sit fourth in Serie C, host Triestina on Sunday afternoon.

Bunino's crime is not the first time that a player has been caught short during the 90 minutes.

Salford City's goalkeeper Max Crocombe was sent off for peeing behind his goal during a match against Bradford Park Avenue in 2017.

Meanwhile, pee has disrupted other games in recent months. Sportsmail previously reported that a 'disgraceful' fan urinated in Tony Thompson's drink during an FA Trophy tie in November 2022, which led the Warrington Town goalkeeper to retaliate by squirting it at the supporter's face, at the cost of a red card.

It's not just in the lower leagues where urine is an issue for players and managers. Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri claimed Feyenoord fans threw bags of waste water at his bench during a UEFA Europa League clash late last year.