Wayne Rooney was ejected in the 64th minute on Wednesday in Villarreal's goalless draw with Manchester United in Group D of the Champions League.
England's fiery teenage striker received a second yellow card for his ironic applause of referee Kim Milton Nielsen's decision to caution him for a foul on Villarreal captain Quique Alvarez.
"He's a fiery character, and when he's thinking he's been done an injustice he reacts like that," United coach Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports.
"It looked as if we were starting to control the match. We might have gone on to get a good result for ourselves. It certainly took away one of our best players," Ferguson said.
Rooney's dismissal was in front of England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was at the game at El Madrigal stadium. Eriksson criticized the 19-year-old's behavior publicly last week after England's shock World Cup 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland.
United's draw failed to improve its poor record in Spain, with only one win in 16 visits.
"We weren't too sharp up front. But a draw's not a bad result," Villarreal striker Diego Forlan told Canal Plus.
Villarreal, lacking injured Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, played a waiting game in a quiet first half which contained only three chances on goal.
Villarreal goalkeeper Sebastian Viera parried a goalbound header by defender Mikael Silvestre in the 18th, while United 'keeper Edwin van der Sar dived to push away Rodolfo Arruabarrena's shot in the 36th.
United almost took the lead four minutes later when Villarreal central defender Gonzalo Rodriguez produced an overhead kick to clear Ruud van Nistelrooy's effort off the goal line.
The two-time European champions, already without injured captain Roy Keane and Gary Neville, lost Argentina left back Gabriel Heinze with a left knee injury in the 33rd following a collision with Villarreal right back Jan Kromkamp.
"We'll have to examine it tomorrow. It looks like he'll be out for a few weeks anyway," Ferguson said.
Forlan, who joined the club from United a year ago and scored 25 league goals last season, wasted his only chance in the 51st when he swept the ball wide following a counterattack.
The Spanish team, making its debut in the competition this season, pushed United toward the end. Substitute Roger Garcia went close with a long-range shot in the 85th, and Marcos Senna's drive was deflected onto the bar five minutes later.
Champions League Roundup
Dennis Bergkamp scored an 89th-minute goal to give Arsenal a win over FC Thun on Wednesday in the Champions League, while Benfica and Ajax also benefited from late strikes.
Bergkamp scored his first Champions League goal in three years to help the Gunners to a 2-1 victory at Highbury.
Wesley Sneijder scored a last-minute equalizer to earn four-time champion Ajax a 1-1 draw at Sparta Prague, and Italian striker Fabrizio Miccoli netted an injury-time winner for Benfica in a 1-0 victory over Lille.
Also, Vincenzo Iaquinta scored a hat trick as Udinese marked its debut in the competition with a 3-0 victory over Panathinaikos, and Serie A champion Juventus won 2-1 at FC Brugge despite having Patrick Vieira sent off a minute from the end.
Other powerhouse teams started with victories. German champion Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Rapid Vienna and FC Barcelona topped host Werder Bremen 2-0.
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