LONDON: Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted the club may appeal against Son Heung-min’s red card following the horrific injury suffered by Everton’s Andre Gomes in the 1-1 draw on Sunday.
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 Son had been initially just booked.
The 26-year-old Portuguese international’s injury — a fracture dislocation to his right ankle which he will have surgery on Monday — occurred as his momentum from Son’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 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,” 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 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 (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 Son 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 Son.
“I want to say thank you to the players and Coleman, who came in on behalf of the squad of Everton.”
Tosun said he and his team-mates could not understand what Gomes was saying.
“Everybody is sad inside. Some players, they nearly cried,” said the Turkey international.
“He was in shock, his eyes were open so big. He was like crying, shouting and screaming.
“I just tried to hold him and speak to him. I tried to tell him to stay calm. We couldn’t understand him.”
Gomes has received plenty of messages of support, ranging from players in the Portugal national team to his former team-mates at Barcelona. Among Premier League players, Dele Alli, who scored Tottenham’s goal in the match.
