Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has sparked controversy with his challenge on Alexander Isak that caused a fractured leg.
Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-1 to Liverpool last time out, having gone down to nine men during the game, and now sit 14th in the Premier League after 17 games.
Xavi Simons deserved a straight sending-off for his challenge on Virgil van Dijk during Tottenham’s defeat to Liverpool. Ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett claimed that referee John Brooks should have shown a red card immediately in the 33rd minute, rather than getting told by the VAR to go to the pitch-side monitor to closely look into the incident.
Cristian Romero was also sent off in the game. He received a second yellow card deep into stoppage time for kicking Ibrahima Konate, and on Wednesday, the Football Association (FA) charged the Spurs skipper in relation to his misconduct after being given the marching orders by John Brooks.
Another incident from the game that has been debated a lot in the past few days is Micky van de Ven’s controversial challenge on Alexander Isak.
Alexander Isak was flattened by Micky van de Ven's challenge after scoring the first goal for Liverpool vs. Spurs
Alexander Isak was flattened by Micky van de Ven’s challenge after scoring the first goal for Liverpool vs. Spurs
Ex-Premier League referee says Micky van de Ven was unfortunate to fracture Alexander Isak’s leg
Micky van de Ven caught Alexander Isak when attempting to block the striker’s shot in the box, which ended in the back of the net, with the Sweden international’s leg twisting under the weight of the challenge. The Reds striker was immediately seen holding his left leg and grimacing in pain, calling for help from the physios. He was in no position to continue and had to be helped off the pitch by two physios.
On Monday, Liverpool confirmed that Isak had suffered a broken leg after Van de Ven attempted to block his goal-bound shot. A day later, Arne Slot lashed out at the Tottenham defender for his reckless challenge that led to his striker suffering a fractured leg, thus ruling him out of action for at least two months.
However, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes that John Brooks and VAR made the right decision not to send Van de Ven off, agreeing with Frank.
“He’s got to make that challenge, he has to make that block. It’s just an unfortunate coming together, and it’s not serious foul play,” Mark Halsey exclusively told The Sun.
“It is subjective whether it’s careless or reckless, and it’s just unfortunate that Isak was then diagnosed with a broken leg. I agree with Frank, it’s not a red card.”
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Van de Ven has to be careful vs. Crystal Palace
Tottenham next face Crystal Palace in a high-stakes London derby on Sunday, and in the absence of Romero, Van de Ven will be tasked with marshalling the defence. The Dutchman clearly had no malice in his challenge on Isak and was only doing his best to stop the striker’s shot from going into the back of the net. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop the Sweden striker from scoring and ended up fracturing his leg.
On Sunday, though, Van de Ven must exercise some caution. This is because he is on four yellow cards, and another caution would trigger a one-game suspension for the defender. Given a lot of talk has happened with Tottenham’s indiscipline against Liverpool, Van de Ven must lead his team by an example in Romero’s absence against Palace at Selhurst Park.