Tottenham have failed with their appeal against Heung-Min Son’s red card received in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to fourth-placed Chelsea.
The South Korean was dismissed in the second half of Sunday’s defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when VAR showed him kicking out at Antonio Rudiger in retaliation to being fouled by the defender.
The FA’s decision to uphold the red card means the attacking midfielder will miss Spurs’ next three games against Brighton, Norwich, and Southampton.
During the match, referee Anthony Taylor chose not to penalise Son for the challenge on Chelsea defender Rudiger but VAR official Paul Tierney decided differently and advised the referee to issue a red card.
It was the third red card for Son of 2019 as he was also sent off for pushing Jefferson Lerma at Bournemouth last campaign, then for a tackle on Everton’s Andre Gomes in November.
Tottenham also appealed against both dismissals, winning the latter. However, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho believes Rudiger should be the one under scrutiny for his role in the incident – not Son.
He sarcastically wished Antonio Rudiger well in his recovery from “broken ribs” after the match and said that the German’s over-the-top reaction should be in focus.
But Chelsea coach Frank Lampard mounted a strong defence of Rudiger, who alleged he was the subject of monkey chants during the match, in the face of criticism from Jose Mourinho over Son’s red card
“With Toni, in this incident when he’s having to post after the game about something we know is a huge deal [racism], I think to question his integrity in that time is disappointing for sure,” said Lampard.
“Pretty universally, certainly what I heard in the commentary and the post-match reflection was that the Son incident was a red card. It wasn’t brutal but it was instinctive that warrants a red card in the modern day.”
