Scotland star sent off in Serie A amid 30-second drama as international teammate nets crucial winner

Ferguson was named on the Bologna bench on his return from international duty having played the full 90 minutes of Scotland's 1-0 defeat by Japan at Hampden last Saturday and then 45 minutes in the 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday after replacing Scott McTominay at half-time.

Bologna made a dream start to the match with goals from Joao Mario and Jonathan Rowe putting the away side two goals up inside 16 minutes at Stadio Giovanni Zini. Ferguson arrived as a substitute in the 78th minute and Bologna were closing in on a comfortable victory before chaos ensued in the closing stages.

First, Federico Bonazzoli pulled one back for Cremonese in the 91st minute from the penalty spot, before the hosts were reduced to 10 men almost straight from the restart when Youssef Maleh struck Nadir Zortea with a raised arm off the ball and was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after a VAR check.

The drama was not finished though with Ferguson sent off in the 96th minute after picking up two yellow cards within the space of 30 seconds. His second booking was also for catching an opponent with a raised arm although he was challenging for a header with the contact appearing accidental.

It was Ferguson's first red card in Italian football and his first since December 2020 when he received two bookings for Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw at St Mirren.

Bologna held on for the victory which keeps them eighth in the table with Ferguson and his teammates now facing a home Europa League quarter-final first leg against Aston Villa on Thursday.

It was a better afternoon for international teammate Che Adams who came off the bench to grab the decisive goal in a crucial 1-0 win for Torino away to bottom of the table Pisa. Adams was an unused substitute for Scotland against Japan but then played 77 minutes from the start against Ivory Coast without much success in front of goal.

However, the 29-year-old reminded of his scoring ability with his seventh of the season all in competitions, sliding in at the back post to bundle the ball home in the 80th minute as Torino moved nine points clear of the Serie A relegation zone.

Former Hibs striker Kieron Bowie seems destined for the drop, however, after his Hellas Verona side were beaten 1-0 at home by Fiorentina. Bowie played the full match and came close to giving his side the lead in the 65th minute with a curling effort from 18 yards that dipped just over the crossbar of former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

However, disaster struck for Verona when Nicolo Fagioli struck for Fiorentina in the 82nd minute to condemn Bowie's side to a defeat that leaves them second bottom and nine points from safety with seven matches remaining.

Elsewhere, Josh Doig was an unused sub as his Sassuolo side claimed a 2-1 win over Cagliari while Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour are not in action until Monday night when Napoli host AC Milan in a third versus second clash at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.