Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Xavi Simons has apologised after being shown a straight red card during the Premier League match against Liverpool. The incident occurred when Simons stood on the back of Virgil van Dijk's Achilles, tearing the defender's sock with his studs. The challenge was initially missed by the referee but was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review.
Simons took to social media to express his remorse, writing: 'Mistakes happen. Virg is my captain. I would never intentionally hurt him or anyone. To my Spurs teammates, my manager and the fans, I take responsibility, I'm really sorry.' The Dutch international will now serve a three-match suspension.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank questioned the decision, stating he did not believe the challenge warranted a straight red card. 'I don't like this as a red card,' Frank said. 'He is chasing Van Dijk, trying to put pressure, and then he changes direction. Unfortunately his foot is on Achilles. You can say you need to be smarter, but so are we not allowed to have physical contact anymore?'
Despite playing with ten men for much of the match, Tottenham lost 2-1. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike scored for Liverpool, while Richarlison pulled one back for Spurs. Tottenham's captain Cristian Romero was also sent off in the 93rd minute after receiving a second yellow card. The defeat leaves Tottenham in 13th position, seven points off the top four.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted that the red card did not make the game easier as expected. 'I thought it would mean that it was a little bit easier, but in reality it wasn't,' Slot said. 'It looked as if we were down to nine and they were on 11 because it was attack after attack after attack, but it didn't lead to a goal.'
