Son Heung-min sent off for his tackle on Andre Gomes

Thirty-three minutes into the second half, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur ran after Andre Gomes of Everton in the left side. To stop the Portuguese from advancing, Son flew into a tackle, and Gomes fell to the ground, colliding with Serge Aurier in the aftermath. This caused a serious injury to the Everton midfielder’s right foot.

The Spurs forward was inconsolable after seeing Gomes screaming in agony. He was visibly distraught, with his head in hands, while Everton fans jeered at him. The South Korean football star was initially booked by the referee but then red-carded. Son left the ground in tears, and Gomes was stretchered off to hospital.

Son’s tackle has created controversies. U.K.-based newspaper Metro said that the South Korean had been hit by a flailing arm from Gomes just a few moments earlier and seemed eager to exact some revenge.

However, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino stressed there was no ill intention to hurt any player. “It was never his (Son’s) intention, and it was never a tackle to do what happened after. It was very, very bad luck for Andre,” he said. Still, Pochettino slammed the referee’s decision, saying that it was “unfair” for Son to finish with a red card as the serious injury to Gomes’ foot occurred when he collided with Aurier following the South Korean’s tackle.

Meanwhile, Everton said in a statement that Gomes will have surgery on a fracture dislocation to his right ankle on Tuesday. Despite the tragic incident, Everton reached out its hand to Son, who was shaken up by the fellow player’s injury. A few players from Everton visited the Hotspur’s locker room to console the South Korean. Everton manager Marco Silva also said that when Son made the tackle, for sure, it wasn’t with the intention to do anything bad to Andre Gomes.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com