Aedan Scipio's dreadlocks lead to two red cards in bizarre Concacaf clash

September 28, 2026 • 0 • min read

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Aedan Scipio's dreadlocks lead to two red cards in bizarre Concacaf clash

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Aedan Scipio's dreadlocks caused two Antigua players to be sent off.
Antigua and Barbuda still beat Anguilla 5-0 despite finishing with nine men.
Scipio's ankle-length dreadlocks became the unexpected story of the match.

Aedan Scipio's incredibly long dreadlocks became the unlikely talking point of a one-sided Concacaf Nations League match after two Antigua and Barbuda players were sent off for pulling his hair.

The 36-year-old Anguilla forward came off the bench in the 69th minute against Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday, with his side already trailing 5-0 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

What followed turned an otherwise straightforward victory into one of the strangest football stories of the weekend.

Two red cards for pulling the same player's hair

Scipio is instantly recognisable on the pitch because his dreadlocks extend almost to his ankles. Their extraordinary length means he ties them back against his body with a band around his waist whilst playing.

Just minutes after entering the match, Scipio became involved in the first bizarre incident.

Keon Greene, an Antigua and Barbuda substitute, pulled Scipio's dreadlocks whilst trying to stop him after the Anguilla player had won possession.

The referee responded with a straight red card, leaving the hosts with 10 players.

Remarkably, it happened again.

Deep into stoppage time, Shalon Knight grabbed Scipio's hair from behind and pulled him to the ground. Knight was also shown a red card, meaning Antigua and Barbuda finished the match with only nine players.

Despite losing two players, Antigua and Barbuda never surrendered control of the game. They had already established a five-goal advantage during a dominant first half and ultimately completed a 5-0 victory without conceding.

O PODER DO CABELO! 🇦🇮👀

Nas Eliminatórias da Concacaf, Aedan Scipio, jogador de Anguilla famoso pelas suas tranças gigantescas, entrou em campo quando a sua seleção perdia por 5 a 0 para Antígua e Barbuda.

A peculiaridade? Seu cabelo comprido se tornou uma arma inusitada,… pic.twitter.com/ATFPmVOsgi
— Lance! (@lancenet) September 27, 2026

A strange ending to a completely one-sided match

The result had effectively been decided before Scipio entered the pitch.

Christopher Douglas scored in the first minute before Dion Pereira doubled the lead in the 16th minute. Douglas added his second in the 21st minute, whilst D'Andre Bishop and Kayonte George completed the five-goal first half with strikes in the 35th and 43rd minutes.

Scipio's introduction therefore did not change the scoreline, but it dramatically changed the story surrounding the match.

The two incidents involving his hair were separated by more than 20 minutes, yet both resulted in Antigua and Barbuda players being dismissed.

A bizarre night for Scipio

Aedan Scipio's distinctive dreadlocks have attracted plenty of interest before, but rarely have they played such a central role in a competitive match.

On this occasion, two separate attempts to stop him by grabbing his hair ended with two Antigua and Barbuda players receiving red cards.

The final score remained firmly in Antigua and Barbuda's favour, but the unusual scenes ensured that Scipio's hairstyle became the enduring image from a match that, for most of the evening, had been completely one-sided.