Tottenham consider appeal over Heung-min’s sending off

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted the club may appeal against Son Heungmin’s red card following the horrific injury suffered by Everton’s Andre Gomes in the 1-1 draw.

Pochettino – whose side were denied a first away win in the league since January with a late stoppage time equaliser from Cenk Tosun – blamed VAR for the red card as Heung-min had been initially just booked.

The 26-year-old Portuguese international’s injury – a fracture dislocation to his right ankle which he has undegone surgery on Monday – occurred as his momentum from Heung-min’s trip saw him crash into Spurs defender Serge Aurier.

Pochettino, whose side remain in the bottom half in 11th place with 13 points from their first 11 games, expressed his sorrow for Gomes but said a visibly distressed Heung-min not intended to provoke such an injury.

“It was clear it was never the intention of Heung-min to create the problem that happened afterwards,” said Pochettino.

“It is unbelievable to see a red card. In that situation we need to help because the decision of the referee was a yellow card but the VAR changed the decision.

“It is the latest example of it being not clear.

“VAR needs to check if it was a bad tackle from Heung-min and judge the action, not what happened after.

“I don’t know what will happen now (in terms of an appeal). The club will see if it is possible but what we cannot change is what happened after (the incident).”

The Premier League issued a statement after the game to clarify why the card had been upgraded, in which it said:

“The red card for Heung-min was for endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge.”

Pochettino expressed his gratitude in the way the Everton players handled the incident and especially the behaviour of the captain Seamus Coleman, who suffered a similar injury in March 2017.

“The players from Everton were fantastic,” said Pochettino. “The captain came to the dressing room to console Heung-min.

“I want to say thank you to the players and Coleman, who came in on behalf of the squad of Everton.” —AFP