Jack Rodwell should have been sent off


Jack Rodwell was a lucky man staying on the pitch


Jack-Rodwell-should-have-been-sent-off
Should it have been a red card for Rodwell instead of yellow?

I must say I agree with Harry Kane, Jack Rodwell should have been sent off for his deliberate hack at Mousa Dembele with the ball a yard away.

“You could say the other team were physical. I think there were some decisions on that pitch that were very surprising. 
“Mousa getting kicked knee-high… If you go up to anyone on the pitch and kick them knee-height on purpose, it doesn’t matter if it’s a ‘tactical foul’, let’s say - it’s a red card. 
“There’s another one. Sonny [Heung-Min Son] has got a big gash going down his shin where the guy’s kicked the ball and followed through onto his shin. 
“Yes it’s physical, but then I think we have to be protected as well, so obviously we’re disappointed from that side of it. It was a disappointing night. 
“The referee obviously just saw it as a tactical foul, but I think we all know a pull on the shirt or a trip on the foot or the shin even [is one thing]. Kicking someone knee-height on purpose like that is a dangerous tackle and, for me, I think it’s definitely a red card.”

There are ways to commit a tactical foul and there are hacks at a player that are red cards and Rodwell's challenge definitely fell into the latter category. The commentators on the night concluded it was a red card challenge and spent the rest of the game telling us he was lucky to still be on the pitch.

His contribution after that incident was huge for Sunderland so the decision of Lee Mason had a significant effect on the game. We can't be looking at a non-sending off as an excuse though, we have to look at our own game and ask what went wrong. Mauricio Pochettino said that post game.It is a question of looking at the things you can control, not the things you can't control.

We must also keep in mind the fact that Victor Wanyama could easily have been sent off this season but hasn't been so perhaps a case of things evening themselves out.

To see what else Harry Kane had to say to Ben Pearce visit the Ham & High website.