‘He slipped’ – Brentford boss gives verdict on Dasilva red card tackle against Hojbjerg

Brentford boss, Thomas Frank has defended Josh Dasilva after his late tackle on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg last night, insisting that the midfielder merely slipped.

Hojbjerg was left with a big gash on his right shin after Dasilva caught him with his studs late in Tottenham’s 2-0 win in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Replays showed that the defender had caught the Spurs star high on his shin and did not make any contact with the ball.

Referee Mike Dean produced a straight red card for the Brentford star after VAR intervened and asked him to watch a replay of the incident on the pitchside monitor.

Hojbjerg was fuming at the challenge and had to be calmed down by Jose Mourinho, who eventually took him off in place of Japhet Tanganga.

However, the Dane has since calmed down as he accepted Da Silva’s apology on social media and acknowledged that the midfielder did not mean to hurt him.

While Frank admitted that the tackle was deserving of a red card, he hoped that the 22-year-old would not get handed a three-match suspension after what was nothing more than an accident.

When asked about the tackle, Frank said (via Alasdair Gold): “I think you can give it (the red card) and understand why it’s given but I hope he isn’t given three games.

“He slipped and if you know the player he’s never done anything like that in his life.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Both Mourinho’s and Frank’s reaction to the tackle is spot on. Dasilva deserved a red card but there was clearly no malice involved in the challenge. Situations like this often happen in football and I do not believe Dasilva deserves to be punished with a three-game ban for “endangering an opponent”.

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