It was a bad afternoon for Tottenham against Bournemouth on Saturday as nine-man Spurs lost out 1-0 on the south coast.
Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth were both sent off at the Vitality Stadium as Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs side slipped to defeat against the Cherries, with Nathan Ake netting the winner late on as it looked like the nine men would hold on for a point.
But was referee Craig Pawson right to show red cards to both Son and Foyth? Former Premier League referee Peter Walton seems to think so, although his version of events caused a stir in the BT Sport studio among some ex-professionals.
“Son saw a bit of red mist actually. He was surrounded by Bournemouth players who were getting at his legs and he has reacted to [Jefferson] Lerma’s challenge," the former referee said, speaking on BT Sport.
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“Lerma has come in and challenged him quite strongly, and he has reacted by jumping up and giving him a bit of a right hook to the body and for me that’s a sending off, it is violent conduct and I think Craig Pawson was correct to send him off.
“I think his right arm has come over and he has given him a bit of a dig. I think it is a bit more than a shove and he has to pay the consequences.
“There are mitigating circumstances, I get that, but he still shouldn’t have done it."
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However, former Liverpool and Manchester United striker Michael Owen, ex-Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton and former Leicester City midfielder Robbie Savage all disputed the force of the contact Son had made, with Owen suggesting that he felt he could have been shown a yellow card instead for "pushing Lerma over."
But Walton said that Foyth could have no complaints about his sending off, after a high tackle on Adam Smith early on in the second half, having only been introduced at the break by Pochettino.
“Unfortunately for [Juan] Foyth he has just lost control of the ball, and I don’t think there is an intention to hurt the player, but he is stretching for the ball with a straight leg, and his foot has come up ad he has caught him on the shin, and that is a sending off," said Walton.
“I don’t think there is any intention, but it is his action, and that is a red card."
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Meanwhile, Walton delivered his verdict on whether Eric Dier could have been shown a second yellow card, having made challenges on Joshua King and Callum Wilson that both went unpunished, having already been booked earlier on.
“He certainly took a risk," said Walton.
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"There was one on Joshua King, a lunge from behind and he hasn’t nicked the ball, but he has certainly caught King. But to be fair, he was running into a wall of defenders, so it wasn’t in fact stopping a promising attack, so you can understand why he wasn’t yellow carded for that.”
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