Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez picked up his second yellow card of the night... and stayed on the pitch.
The Argentina no.1, was booked for time-wasting in the first-half of Villa's Europa Conference League quarter-final win against Lille and was booked again in the shootout where he lived up to his 'master of the dark arts' nickname.
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Unai Emery's side lost 2-1 on the night but with the aggregate score 3-3, extra-time and then penalties were needed to settle the tie in France where Villa won to reach the last four.
Martinez saved a penalty from Nabil Bentaleb and then shushed the baiting crowd, which brought a warning from referee Ivan Kruzliak. It was not lost on the goalkeeper that the French fans will remember his antics that denied France a successive World Cup when he helped Argentina win it in 2022.
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Then, as Ollie Watkins waited to take his penalty for Villa, Martinez was then shown another booking from the ref. Although it was his second yellow of the game, he stayed on.
As per IFAB rules, yellow cards during normal time are not carried into penalty shootouts, much to the relief of Martinez, who later saved a second penalty from Benjamin Andre to send Villa through to the semi-finals of the competition with a 4-3 win on penalties.
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Despite VAR checking to see he stayed on his line, he turned around to the home fans behind the goal and did a quick dance then ran off to celebrate with his teammates as they celebrated a first European semi-final since 1982 in very dramatic fashion.
"It has been a hell of a ride all of my career. I am a believer and a hard worker and it was my destiny today," Martinez told TNT Sports afterwards.
"I always say in all my career, I owe my teammates in those moments, even when we were watching Real Madrid last night the manager was saying we might go to penalties and in those moments I own my box."
Asked about the drama that left many fans discovering the rule for the first time, he explained said: "It's all about reputation for time-wasting because the other goalie was doing exactly the same thing.
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"I got a yellow after 30 minutes and we were losing the game so I don't know what the ref wants from me.
"Then there was no ball in the penalty spot and I was asking for a ball from the ball boy and I get booked; I just don't understand the rules."
Speaking to Villa's in-house channel, he added: "I love this football club. Playing in a semi-final for Villa is something incredible. My career keeps going up and up.
"You need to celebrate little victories and after 42 years we are in another [European] semi-final. It's remarkable and I think the fans should give us a lift on Sunday against Bournemouth. Some players will be tired and we need the home supporters on Sunday to turn up and give us a boost to go all the way."
Emery praised his goalkeeper's mentality and leadership but admitted he thought he had lost him with the second yellow. "The rules are like that. Yesterday [the media] were all asking about me about the reception he will get here in France and you could see it throughout the game.
"He is very experienced and he was trying to control his emotions but the supporters were pushing him. I believe in him and he is mature but with personality. He is always under his own control."
On the night, Yusuf Yazici opened the scoring for Lille before Andre headed in their second to give the Ligue 1 hope of reaching the semi-finals.
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However, Matty Cash saw his deflected effort fire into the back of the net in the 87th minute to hand Villa a huge lifeline.
Martinez then emerged as the hero and Villa will face Olympiakos in the final four, with just three games separating them and European glory.
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For boss Emery, it was an eighth successive European quarter-final victory and will be eyeing another European trophy having won the Europa League four times previously with Sevilla and Villarreal.
Watching the game was talkSPORT host and former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor. "Only one English team left in Europe! Shame on you, other Premier League teams. Useless! UTV [Up the Villa]."