Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has criticised Heung-min Son’s reaction after an incident with Kurt Zouma during Tottenham’s win over West Ham.
Spurs claimed a 3-1 victory over the Hammers on Sunday evening which moved them within three points of Arsenal, who occupy the final Champions League spot in fourth.
The hosts took the lead early on when Zouma turned a cross into his own net, before Son notched a double to seal a crucial win for Antonio Conte’s side.
But the London derby encounter was not free from madness, after an incident involving the pair sparked a mini-brawl between both teams during the second half.
After Spurs won a corner, Zouma kicked the ball at Son as he was walking away to take it, with the South Korean star falling to the turf in response.
The West Ham defender seemingly angered Son’s teammate Sergio Reguilon, who raced over to confront him before being restrained.
Son’s reaction left former official Gallagher less than impressed, who says it is ‘not what you want to see’ on a football pitch, particularly in the spotlight of the Premier League.
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He told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch: “Not what you want to see on a football field. Not what you want to see in the Premier League – a global brand. Not good.”
Asked whether further action could have been taken regarding the incident, Gallagher added: “You have to do what’s most important.
“The incident it sparked becomes focal rather than what actually started it off because it was such a minor thing – just kicked the ball at him like that.
“Afterwards you’ve got Reguilon coming in – an offence check for a possible red card which I thought was a yellow card and again shows the vagueness of the system. Because it’s all or nothing, he escapes scot-free.
“There was such a lot going on over what started as almost a petulant kicking the ball at him.”
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Zouma will have known what he was doing when he kicked the ball at Son in the way that he did and he seemingly achieved what he wanted.
But equally, it is hard to condone Son’s reaction as the ball wasn’t kicked that hard at him, while Reguilon should have been smarter to avoid getting involved as much as he did.
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