Ex-Fifa official swipes at Heung-min Son as controversial Tottenham footage emerges – ‘Players might not like it’
Heung-min Son has a reputation for going down easily but Dong-min Kim deserved his red card as Tottenham beat the K-League All-Stars 6-3 in a pre-season friendly last week (13 July).
That is the view of ex-Fifa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Kim’s challenge on Son.
As shown by the highlights on Spurs’ YouTube channel, the Incheon United defender brought down the 29-year-old just outside the penalty area as he was in on goal.
The referee sent Kim off and Tottenham received a free-kick as they were 4-2 up.
They scored a further two goals to comfortably secure the win in Seoul with Son scoring twice in his homecoming.
“We know that Son has got a reputation for going down easily but it doesn’t matter about the level of foul,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“If the referee has judged in that situation that a foul has occurred then he has to go.
“I believe in issuing a red card, the players might not like it, but that’s the law and he’s carrying out the law.
“Son’s in possession, the arm is out by the defender and Son’s gone down. Defenders have got to learn. He’s attempted to wrap himself around his opponent.
“There’s nothing wrong with that from a referee’s point of view, he’s in a terrific position, and he’s made a call.
“The referee has maintained his own integrity and remained calm, well done.”
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