Dermot Gallagher reacts to Tottenham v West Ham United controversy live on Sky Sports
Dermot Gallagher lauded the use of VAR to send off Mohammed Kudus for West Ham United in the 4-1 loss to Tottenham on Saturday (19 October).
The 24-year-old lost all composure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and received his marching orders after lashing out at Spurs defender Micky van de Ven and Richarlison, resulting in a meltdown between the players.
Gallagher welcomed the VAR intervention in the incident live on Sky Sports [21 October, 11:38am] after referee Andy Madley initially deemed the controversial clash a yellow card offence.
He said: “I think it’s a red card. There’s lots of interesting things in this clip.
“The referee gets banged into accidentally and loses sight of what’s going on. VAR mops up – it did really well. He’s rushed in – which I understand – to be a peacemaker but gets clattered.”
West Ham United are in trouble after Tottenham loss
While the incident had no bearing on the end result, West Ham now must face Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton without one of their star players.
The match had already been decided when Kudus – for some reason – kicked out at Van de Ven. His decision is the epitome of stupidity and will cost his side in what could prove to be a crucial period for Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham have now lost four out of their opening eight Premier League matches under the Spaniard. He has the full support of the board for now [Roshane Thomas] but the stance could easily change if the side fails to win all of the three upcoming fixtures before the November international break.
A silver lining is Crysencio Summerville may now be granted an extended run in the first team in Kudus’ absence, and therefore given the opportunity to replicate his Championship Player of the Year form in East London.
However, with Niclas Fullkrug still nowhere near a return and Michail Antonio blanking once again on the weekend, where the goals will come from in the upcoming weeks is a mystery.
Kudus scored in consecutive matches for the first team this season – against Ipswich and West Ham – so to lose him at the exact moment he finds his goalscoring form is a huge blow. The manner in which he will be missing adds insult to injury.
In other West Ham news, Tony Cottee reacts to the Hammers’ ‘capitulation’ in the loss against Tottenham.
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