Tottenham: BBC pundit reacts as touchline incident unfolds v Aston Villa amid controversy

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Published on:

10 Mar 2024, 9:41 am

Conor Coady says he can fully understand the reaction from the Tottenham players and staff to the John McGinn challenge on Destiny Udogie in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa.

Villa captain McGinn was issued a straight red card by referee Chris Kavanagh for his strong challenge on Udogie in the second half of Sunday's (10 March) Premier League contest.

The incident happened in front of the Tottenham bench and led to a melee on the touchline prior to McGinn being given his marching orders - just his second career red card.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live [10 March, 2:28pm], Leicester City defender Coady said: "He is trying to stop the counter-attack we have all been there but he has obviously gone in a bit too hard.

"I'd be gutted seeing my team-mate being sent off for that but at the same time I do understand the reaction from the Tottenham bench and players' reaction because it was a real, strong challenge from McGinn."

Tottenham punish 10-man Aston Villa after John McGinn sending off

McGinn made absolutely no attempt to win the ball and instead took out Udogie with a tackle that could have badly hurt his opponent.

It was a shocking challenge and one that rightly led to referee Kavanagh reaching into his back pocket.

The situation could have turned out a lot more ugly, in fairness, as the Tottenham coaches and staff were a matter of yards away.

Had McGinn cynically attempted to halt Udogie's run with a controlled tackle, a yellow card would have sufficed.

Brennan Johnson was among the scorers as Tottenham thrashed Aston Villa at Villa Park

The key is that it was reckless and had an element of frustration to it, so there can surely be no complaints.

That incident came at a point when Spurs were already two goals up, and they went on to put two more goals past their 10-man opponents.

The McGinn sending off was not a turning point, but Villa's players will no doubt be fuming that he so needlessly got himself sent off.

In other Tottenham news, Spurs are reaping the rewards from a decision made by Daniel Levy six years ago.

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Aston Villa