Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant appeared to punch an opponent and was sent off as England's U21 team lost 0-3 to Croatia U21 in London yesterday.

The 20-year-old is told by manager David Platt to 'grow up or else', as the Evening Standard puts it.

At the time of the red card, England was already trailing 0-2, and the Times report that it only confirmed the defeat rather than causing it.

Pennant is expected to join Leeds for a two-month loan at the end of this week.

Also on the pitch for England were Francis Jeffers and former Arsenal midfielder Stephen Sidwell, now at Reading.

Rupe adds...
I missed the incident myself, but I'm told it happened after Pennant failed to put the ball out so an injured opponent could receive treatment, but instead played on and nearly created an England goal. This caused a Croatian player to get a bit shirty with Pennant and Pennant reacted. So it does sound like he could easily have avoided this. Perhaps he's just trying to get into the swing of being a Leeds player ;-)