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His final touch in a Pompey shirt warranted a red card in front of jeering Millwall fans, representing an ignominious exit.

Not the manner Callum Johnson wanted to wave farewell following 44 appearances and one goal for the Blues.

No wonder the right-back feels hard done-by, particularly as he still disputes such punishment for the 48th-minute challenge on George Saville.

For Johnson, the August 2021 encounter at The Den in the Carabao Cup would be his last Pompey outing, with Danny Cowley seeking to remove him from the wage bill.

Ironically, his replacement, Mahlon Romeo, would be in the Millwall opposition ahead of a season-long loan switch to the south coast.

Still, Johnson saw red at the hands of referee Charles Breakspear – and by the end of the month was on loan at Fleetwood.

He told The News: ‘I think it was harsh, I remember their manager coming straight up when I walked off and told me it was never a red. Then he said it again at the end!

‘Jed Wallace came up to me on the pitch and said the same, as did a few of their other players. We tried to overturn it, but they rejected it.

Callum Johnson is horrified to receive his marching orders at Millwall in August 2021. He never played for Pompey again. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

‘That’s football I suppose, but I didn’t think it was a red.

‘It was a loose ball and we both went in. I definitely won the ball, we had a video angle of it which showed me winning it and my foot was on the floor.

‘Still, their lad made a meal of it and the crowd got behind it. I couldn’t believe it when the referee gave it.

‘When he blew his whistle, I actually ran up to him to complain and say it was a foul on me – then he pulled his red out. I genuinely couldn’t believe it.

Callum Johnson leaves the pitch at The Den following his dismissal. He would later leave for Fleetwood on loan for the remainder of the season, making 39 appearances. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

‘It wasn’t a nice way to end my Pompey career, but I don’t think it was a red so I couldn’t have done anything about it.’

Pompey lost the Millwall encounter 2-1 in front of a 4,021 crowd, while Johnson collected the only red card of his career so far.

He went on to make 39 appearances at Fleetwood, scoring four times, and is now a free agent following his Blues release at the season’s end.

He added: ‘I sort of had an idea that it might be my last game, but you never really know what’s going to happen in football.

‘I had a feeling that it may possibly be the end, but who was to know?’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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