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Footy Player Sent Off For 'Dangerous Haircut'

An Aussie Rules footballer has been sent off during a match for having a "dangerous haircut".

The umpire decided Nathan Van Someren's spiky mohawk hairstyle could injure another player, and ordered him off the field.

The footballer, who plays for Simpson in Victoria, has had the hairstyle for three years told the Geelong Advertiser he couldn't believe umpire Don Wheadon's decision.

"Before the game the umpire said that I could not play with my hair like that. He told me it was dangerous," Van Someren said.

"We all thought that he was taking the mickey out of me. A few umpires have made jokes about my hair before, so I didn't think any more of it."

Van Someren played in the first and second quarters of the match against Otway District, but in the third quarter the umpire decided to send him off.

The 25-year-old player has refused to get his hair cut.

"I don't want to, I want to keep it. I don't think I should have to. If someone has long hair it could flick someone in the eye.

"Should they be made to cut it as well?"

The player, who works as an electrician, coloured the tips of his mohawk to match his team.

"I put yellow in it because we are the Tigers," he said.

"Me girlfriend is a hairdresser and she like to play around with my hair a bit and I just like this style, I reckon it is pretty cool."

His coach Leigh Walsh was fuming at the decision to send the player off.

"You expect players to be sent off for hitting blokes or abusing umpires, not for their hairstyles,' he said.

The Victorian Country Football League later said the umpire had misinterpreted the rules.

The sending off did not affect the result - Van Someren's team still managed to win by 34 points.