Tottenham and Chelsea handed final Rodrigo Bentancur red card referee verdict

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has offered his view on Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur potentially escaping a red card during Saturday's defeat to Chelsea.

Enzo Maresca's team scored the game's only goal 34 minutes in after sloppy play from Thomas Frank's men. First, Djed Spence gave the ball away - before Spurs initially won it back - only for Xavi Simons to under-hit a pass to teammate Micky van de Ven, and the Dutch defender lost it in trying to dribble past Moises Caicedo, who found Joao Pedro to score.

Tottenham struggled to create anything, other than a couple of Mohammed Kudus efforts before the break, and had goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to thank for it not being a far heavier defeat on the night, making a string of saves, mostly from match-winner Pedro.

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One contentious moment in the match saw Spurs midfielder Bentancur shown a yellow rather than a red for a challenge on Reece James. Asked on Sky Sports' Ref Watch for his view on the incident, Gallagher said: "I think this is one of them.

"If he gets sent off, VAR is not bringing him back. I think it's more red than a yellow card.

"But I can understand the yellow on field. I think VAR is going to back the decision."

Former Coventry City striker Jay Bothroyd also had his say on the show. He said: "If he does get a red card there, I say, I understand why he got it, but then after that, I can understand as well why it's a yellow card.

"It's an aggressive challenge. It's one of those orange card challenges."

Meanwhile, a separate incident saw Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez receive a yellow card instead of a red for a challenge on Spurs' Joao Palhina.

Asked for his view on the incident, Gallagher said: "I definitely do not think this is a red card, his feet are up and it is a glancing blow, he has not gone through him, it is almost sideways.

"If he was in front and had gone through like that, he is on big trouble, but because of the angle he comes in at, he does not get the force or contact and so does not make the impact."

Bothroyd added: "I really like this decision from the ref. Enzo has tried to make an honest challenge there and just toe the ball away and as he has toed the ball away, his foot is obviously up, but his foot has hit the side of Palhinha's knee, so in that instance it is not a reckless tackle, or a high challenge. From certain angles and a high speed, it looks a red."

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