A country football umpire made a hair-raising call at the weekend when he sent off a player for sporting a "dangerous" mohawk.

Nathan Van Someren, who plays for Simpson Tigers in the Colac and District Football League, was ordered from the field in the clash with Otway on Saturday when his black-and-yellow 'do unsettled the umpire.

Van Someren was told to leave the field for 15 minutes "because his hair was too dangerous," Tigers co-coach Leigh Walsh said, and might have poked another player in the eye.

Van Someren, 25, said he couldn’t believe it when the umpire confronted him midway through the third quarter.