Pochettino: Spurs could appeal Son red card
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has suggested the club will appeal the red card received by Son Heung-min after the forward’s challenge led to the horrific injury suffered by Everton midfielder Andre Gomes on Sunday.
Leading 1-0 at Goodison Park and seemingly on course for a first away win in the Premier League since January, Tottenham were reduced to 10 men when Son was sent off after a VAR referral having initially received a yellow card.
Gomes’s injury – a fracture dislocation to his right ankle which he will have surgery – occurred as his momentum from Son’s trip saw him crash into Spurs defender Serge Aurier.
After going down to 10men, Tottenham conceded in the seventh of 12 minutes of injury time as Everton salvaged a point.
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 Son had not intended to provoke such an injury.
“It was clear it was never the intention of Son to create the problem that happened afterwards,” Pochettino said. “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 Son 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.”
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 Son. I want to say thank you to the players and Coleman, who came in on behalf of the squad of Everton.”