Ollie Watkins and Micah Richards disagree on John McGinn red card in Aston Villa vs Tottenham
After a tough 4-0 defeat against Tottenham, Aston Villa's star player Ollie Watkins had a different view to Micah Richards about the controversial red card given to John McGinn.
Tottenham took control of the game after James Maddison scored the opener in the 50th minute and Brennan Johnson added another shortly after. The audience held their breath when McGinn lunged at Destiny Udogie and knocked him over without even going for the ball.
The incident ignited a fierce reaction from Spurs' team and staff as they surrounded McGinn while Villa's manager Unai Emery tried to intervene. When things eventually settled down, ref Chris Kavanagh showed McGinn the red card, taking him by surprise and effectively ending the game for Villa.
Two more goals from Son Heung-min and Timo Werner sealed Spurs' triumphant win.
Following the match, Watkins voiced his thoughts about the red card situation during Sky Sports interview [via The Mirror]: «The sending off I think is harsh. Obviously it looks a little bit reckless because it's in front of their bench and a big reaction from their side. It's obviously a tough one to take.»
If given the choice to lose with 10 players rather than 11, he'd choose the former. Losing an integral player like McGinn for the next three games is a severe blow he added: «If someone says you lose the game but you finish with 10 men then I'd take that. John McGinn is so important for us. That's the biggest nail in the coffin, losing him for three games.»
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Ex-Villa star Micah Richards thinks the ref was right to send McGinn off.
Richard
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