Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino insists Son Heung-min had no intention of injuring Andre Gomes and believes his red card should be rescinded.
The Portugal international sustained a potentially season-ending injury after his lower right leg appeared to be seriously displaced after he fell awkwardly after being clipped by his opponent.
Referee Martin Atkinson initially issued a yellow card but subsequently followed it up with a red, following the intervention of VAR.
In a statement, the Premier League explained the change, saying: “The red card for Son was for endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge.”
However, Pochettino felt the video should have actually exonerated his player of serious blame and did not rule out an appeal. “It was clear it was never the intention of Son to create the problem that happened afterwards. It is unbelievable to see a red card,” said the Spurs boss. “In that situation we need to help because the decision of the referee was 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. “We all feel sorry for Andre. I want to send my best wishes to him and to his family in this tough moment. We want to send, on behalf of the squad, our best wishes.”
There appeared to be no ill will between the teams afterwards with Pochettino revealing Everton’s club captain Seamus Coleman, who was out for a year after suffering a similarly-horrific double-fracture of his lower leg in March 2017, spoke to the distraught Son afterwards.
Tottenham had looked on course for a much-needed three points as Dele Alli gave them a 1-0 lead but a goal seven minutes into injury time from Cenk Tosun rescued a 1-1 draw for the home side.
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