Players sent off at the Euros

France defender Eric Abidal is shown a red card by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel against Italy at Euro 2008.
France defender Eric Abidal is shown a red card by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel against Italy at Euro 2008. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The European Championship kicked off in 1960 as four teams competed for the trophy in the tournament's final stages.

Back then, it was called the European Nations' Cup and remained a four-team tournament until Euro 1980, which featured eight national sides.

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Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.