The 25-year-old had an eventful afternoon at the Vitality Stadium in the FA Cup fifth round match, scoring a stunning goal on 60 minutes, cancelling out the opener from Bournemouth’s Evanilson.
The 30-yard strike was sheer brilliance, but it was followed by complete madness in extra time when the Brazilian lost his cool.
Cherries full-back Milos Kerkez pulled Cunha’s shirt and the Wolves forward snapped, swinging an arm at the Hungary international, kicking and headbutting him.
Unsurprisingly Cunha was shown a red card but the drama didn’t end there as he didn’t go quietly and had to be dragged down the tunnel as he continued to argue his case.
Wolves went on to lose the cup tie on penalties, with Bournemouth booking their spot in quarter-final draw.
Arsenal legend Martin Keown said of Cunha on Match of the Day: ‘The ability he has is top level, the goal he scored belongs in the Champions League, but then suddenly we see the ugly.
‘I have not seen that on the football pitch since the 1970s – he just lost it. The referee had to send him off. They couldn’t get him out of the ground. This was the ugly part and it is something he has to stop.
‘Wolves need points to stay up. He will be a huge loss.’
The Brazilian will indeed be a loss as he is set to miss at least three games, but it could be even more if he is hit with a misconduct charge for his behaviour after being shown the red card.
Which matches will Matheus Cunha miss?
The Wolves star is guaranteed to miss Premier League games against Everton (March 8), Southampton (March 15) and West Ham United (April 1).
He will learn his fate in the coming days as to whether referee Sam Barrott reports him for his reaction to being sent-off.
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira spoke in defence of his star striker, saying he has been dealing with an injury and struggled with the emotion of the situation.
‘Matheus is a special player, and today he played extra time without conditions to play extra time,’ said Pereira.
‘I left him out without a substitution to try to be there and create some to create. For the last three weeks, he has had a problem in the hamstring and he tried to play on.
‘The emotional side in this game was very high, not only inside the pitch, but on the bench, in the stands, everywhere. There was a lot of pressure. In the end, what happened can happen. Of course, it should not happen but this is something that happens in football and we must deal with the situation.
‘I didn’t see the situation. I was looking at the ball on the other side of the pitch. But in the end the referee decides for a red card.’
This is not the first time Cunha has landed himself in hot bother this season, with the forward involved in some ugly post-match scenes against Ipswich back in December.
Cunha was seen pushing an Ipswich staff member in the face, which knocked off his glasses, after Wolves succumbed to the 2-1 defeat at Molineux.
Wolves’ star man was handed an £80,000 fine and a two-match ban after being charged with misconduct and acting in an improper manner.
Wolves are 17th in the Premier League table but do have a five-point cushion ahead of Ipswich.
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