Worst tackle I’ve suffered
Knockaert slates horror lunge
BrigHtoN’s Anthony Knockaert feels blessed not to have been seriously injured after being on the receiving end of the worst tackle he’s ever encountered.
the winger was wiped out by Watford defender Miguel Britos, who was shown a straight red for flying into Knockaert at full speed with his studs showing.
Knockaert accused Britos, who has now been sent off three times in his past 20 league matches, of intentionally aiming to commit a bad challenge.
the Football Association have the power to hand Britos a heftier punishment than the usual three-match suspension, though it is understood they are unlikely to do so. ‘ that was definitely the worst by far that i’ve ever had,’ said Knockaert.
‘i could see it coming — he came in literally to do a bad challenge and the first thing i tried to do was to avoid it but i couldn’t get out of the way.
‘the Watford fans still boo me for something that happened years ago ( the Watford v leicester play- off semi-final in May 2013, when Knockaert dived to win an injury-time penalty) but they knew it was not a good challenge.
‘it’s important that referees protect players from bad tackles. it could have been a lot worse for me. i’m fortunate i was able to carry on.’
Watford manager Marco silva felt his side had a good chance of beating Brighton but Britos’s sending-off changed the game. Asked if he will forgive his player, silva said: ‘We need to wait and see.’
the Hornets finished last season with the most cards in the Premier league — 89 in total, ahead of second-placed West Ham on 83.
Despite that, silva has not spoken to his squad about their lack of discipline, as defender Christian Kabasele revealed: ‘We don’t speak about this before the game. We just play the game and see what goes on.
‘We are a team who always give 100 per cent in the challenge, maybe sometimes too much.’
Asked if Britos said anything to the squad at half- time, Kabasele added: ‘He did not say anything. He was too disappointed.’