VAR sends off Curtis Jones during Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham
Curtis Jones was sent off by VAR during Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham on Saturday evening. Just 24 minutes into the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Jones was booked for a bad foul on Yves Bissouma.
Many at the ground winced when the challenge was made given how the Liverpool midfielder’s studs went into the Spurs star’s shin and soon the Video Assistant Referee was called. Referee Simon Hooper checked the incident on the pitch-side monitor before cancelling the yellow card and showing Jones a straight red, much to the annoyance of the player and his manager Jurgen Klopp.
Gary Neville not convinced by VAR decision
Though some agreed with Hooper’s decision, Manchester United legend Gary Neville wasn’t convinced, saying on Sky Sports: ‘A yellow is right. I know when you’re doing someone, I’ve done it myself. He wasn’t there to do someone. He is over the top, the ball is moving and it is certainly not a red, it looks worse than it actually is. His foot slips, it is not a red for me and this will ruin the game.’
Neville’s Sky colleagues agreed, with former Liverpool and Tottenham star Jamie Redknapp adding: ‘I think the red card is extremely harsh. Every time you go into a tackle like this you are risking going over the top of the ball. Once he doesn’t get it right it doesn’t look good but he doesn’t mean to hurt him and yellow card would suffice.’ Ex-Spurs player Andros Townsend concurred: ‘Letter of the law, the force it has to be a red card. But he does get enough of the ball and for me, and for a lot of players – football is a contact game, as soon as you get the ball, the rest is history.’
Conclusion
The decision to send off Curtis Jones was met with mixed reactions from pundits and fans alike. While some agreed with VAR’s decision, others felt that a yellow card would have been more appropriate given that Jones did get some of the ball. Ultimately, it was a difficult call for referee Simon Hooper to make and one that could have gone either way.
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