Keith Hackett reacts instantly to ‘violent’ Southampton incident vs Chelsea
Jack Stephens has been blasted by Keith Hackett after he was sent off for pulling the hair of Marc Cucurella during his Southampton side’s clash with Chelsea.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee exclusively told Football Insider that the Saints captain had let his team down, while praising VAR for intervening over the incident.
It was a tough start to the game for Russell Martin’s side. Despite a Joe Aribo strike, they found themselves 3-1 down within 35 minutes after goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke.
Things then got even more challenging for Southampton with five minutes to go until half-time, when Stephens was dismissed.
As Cucurella lined up to mark the Saints captain for a corner, the defender could be seen to tug on the hair of the Chelsea man somewhat forcefully.
That then led to Stephens being sent off by referee Tony Harrington after a video review, and Hackett insists he can have no complaints with that decision.
Keith Hackett credits VAR for Jack Stephens sending off in Southampton vs Chelsea
Harrington himself did not initially spot the incident, it was picked up by VAR, who recommended on on-field review by the referee.
After watching back the footage, the referee wasted little time in producing a red card for Stephens, giving Chelsea a man advantage for the rest of the game.
Hackett completely agrees with the decision to give the Southampton skipper his marching orders for a “violent” move, as he told Football Insider:
“Our game is FOOTball and other than the goalkeeper we expect players to play with their feet.
“Jack Stephen’s has let his team down given that he has clearly pulled the hair of his opponent.
“Well done to the VAR to intervene and having viewed the incident the referee is left with an easy decision to red card the player for an act of violent conduct.”
With Southampton going into the game bottom of the table and with a two-goal deficit to an in-form Chelsea, Stephens’ dismissal will have done little to help his under-pressure manager Russell Martin.
The incident comes days after the Saints had also been on the wrong end of a more controversial VAR call for offside in their 1-1 draw with Brighton.
In other news, Chelsea fans react to latest Reece James update.
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