Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes that both Tottenham and West Ham will be charged by the FA for an incident that occurred during the London derby on Saturday.
Ugly altercation in the second half
Late in the encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there was a major flashpoint between the two sets of players.
It came as a result of Mohammed Kudus deciding to kick Micky van de Ven twice on the follow-through after making a challenge towards the end of the match.
The Dutchman was not too pleased with the incident and confronted the West Ham star, and within seconds, it became a melee, with both sets of players getting involved in some pushing and shoving.
VAR’s intervention and red card
Referee Andy Madley initially decided to book both Van de Ven and Kudus for the incident but VAR Chris Kavanagh right intervened and asked the referee to rewatch the incident.
Replays showed that Kudus had slapped Van de Ven before also shoving Pape Sarr in the face a few seconds later as the altercation broke out.
There were hardly any protests from the Kudus or his teammates when the Ghana international was given his marching orders.
Mark Halsey’s verdict – Tottenham may be charged
Halsey believes that the right decision was eventually reached after the intervention of VAR, suggesting that Kudus could have even had two red cards.
The former Premier League referee claimed that we might not have heard the last on the incident, suggesting that both clubs could be charged for failing to control their players.
Halsey wrote in the Sun on Sunday (page 3, 20/10 ): “Mohammed Kudus’ red card at Tottenham was a good use of VAR. Ref Andy Madley would not have seen all of the wild actions of the West Ham forward in real time.
“Kudus was rightly sent off for violent conduct after lashing out on Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr. In fact, the Ghana international could have been sent off twice for his poor conduct where he kicked and slapped Van de Ven – before then shoving Sarr.
“VAR Chris Kavanagh correctly intervened but I would question the consistency of Prem officials. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson did something similar before the international break against Nottingham Forest and no action was taken.
“Kudus, 24, could yet face more punishment from the FA for his actions at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but both clubs will face FA charges for failing to control their players.”