Midway through the second half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Curtis Jones was given his marching orders after receiving two yellow cards. Prior to his dismissal, Jones was initially shown a straight red card following a VAR review for a late challenge on Yves Bissouma. Taking advantage of their extra man, Tottenham took the lead as James Maddison played a sharp pass to Richarlison, who then set up Son Heung-min to score.
However, just before half-time, Liverpool equalized when Gakpo converted a header from Virgil van Dijk. Despite having the numerical advantage, Tottenham struggled to create significant scoring opportunities throughout the second half. Their grip on the game tightened even further when Jota also received a red card.
While there was little debate about the challenge that led to Jota’s sending off, his first booking was seen as unjust. Destiny Udogie made a run down the left flank and Jota chased after him, but upon the replay, it was difficult to determine if there was any contact that caused Udogie to fall. At most, Jota’s knee brushed Udogie’s foot, causing the Italian to stumble.
Even with two extra players, Tottenham struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, with their best opportunities coming early in the second half. Liverpool’s goalkeeper Alisson made two excellent saves to deny James Maddison and Son, but in hindsight, a pivotal moment occurred between those two chances.
On Reddit, a video clip surfaced just five minutes after Jota’s substitution, showing him fouling Bissouma in a dangerous area. Although the challenge was not malicious, Bissouma was heading towards open space near the goal, leading to the argument that he could have received a caution at that moment.
If the referee deemed that challenge as non-bookable, then Jota’s slight clip on Udogie and subsequent yellow card was likely a result of accumulated fouls. Jota’s dismissal certainly affected the final outcome of the game, but any objections to his red card can be dismissed when watching the footage of his initial foul after coming on.
