Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has suggested the club will appeal the red card received by Son Heung-min after the forward's challenge led to the horrific injury suffered by Everton midfielder Andre Gomes on Sunday.
Leading 1-0 at Goodison Park and seemingly on course for a first away win in the Premier League since January, Tottenham were reduced to 10 men when Son was sent off after a VAR referral having initially received a yellow card.
Gomes's injury - a fracture dislocation to his right ankle which he will have surgery on Monday - occurred as his momentum from Son's trip saw him crash into Spurs defender Serge Aurier.
After going down to 10-men, Tottenham conceded in the seventh of 12 minutes of injury time as Everton salvaged a point.
Pochettino - whose side remain in the bottom half in 11th place with 13 points from their first 11 games - expressed his sorrow for Gomes but said a visibly distressed Son had not intended to provoke such an injury.
"It was clear it was never the intention of Son to create the problem that happened afterwards," Pochettino said. "It is unbelievable to see a red card. In that situation we need to help because the decision of the referee was a yellow card but the VAR changed the decision.
"It is the latest example of it being not clear. VAR needs to check if it was a bad tackle from Son and judge the action, not what happened after.
"I don't know what will happen now (in terms of an appeal). The club will see if it is possible but what we cannot change is what happened after (the incident)."
The Premier League issued a statement after the game to clarify why the card had been upgraded, in which it said: "The red card for Son was for endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge."
Pochettino expressed his gratitude in the way the Everton players handled the incident and especially the behaviour of the captain Seamus Coleman, who suffered a similar injury in March 2017.
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Premier League team of the week
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Goalkeeper: Ben Foster (Watford) – Made eight saves, some of them brilliant, and almost spared his side defeat against Chelsea when he nearly scored a 97th-minute equaliser. Reuters -
Right-back: Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – The man who, more than anyone else, turned a loss to Southampton into a win with an assist and a winner. An excellent attacking display. AFP -
Centre-back: Federico Fernandez (Newcastle) – Impressed while on his normal duties at the back but also got forward to score Newcastle’s second in the away win at West Ham. Reuters -
Centre-back: Caglar Soyuncu (Leicester City) – A commanding figure at the back yet again, the Turkish defender also scored the well-taken opener in victory at Crystal Palace. Reuters -
Left-back: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) – Another all-action display was capped with the emphatic header that brought Liverpool’s equaliser in the win at Aston Villa. EPA -
Right midfield: Leandro Trossard (Brighton) – Came off the bench to have a catalytic effect against Norwich. The Belgian scored one goal and made another in a deserved win. Reuters -
Centre midfield: John Lundstram (Sheffield United) – A revelation in the Premier League, he scored twice in the first half against Burnley. Showed both energy and quality. Reuters -
Centre midfield: Joao Moutinho (Wolves) – Set up Raul Jimenez’s equaliser against Arsenal. The classy passer was at the heart of most things as Wolves had 24 shots. AFP -
Left midfield: Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – His outstanding 2019 continued with a late winner at Villa Park. Once again, the Senegalese was the best of Liverpool’s feared front three. EPA -
Striker: Josh King (Bournemouth) – Condemned his former club to defeat with the finest piece of skill in the game as he showed agility and ability with a winner against Manchester United. AFP -
Striker: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) – Scored one, made one. Another fine game in a remarkable season for the man who has now established himself as Chelsea’s first-choice striker. Reuters
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"The players from Everton were fantastic," said Pochettino. "The captain came to the dressing room to console Son. I want to say thank you to the players and Coleman, who came in on behalf of the squad of Everton."
Tosun said he and his teammates could not understand what Gomes was saying.
"Everybody is sad inside. Some players, they nearly cried," said the Turkey international. "He was in shock, his eyes were open so big. He was like crying, shouting and screaming.
"I just tried to hold him and speak to him. I tried to tell him to stay calm. We couldn't understand him."
Gomes has received plenty of messages of support, ranging from players in the Portugal national team to his former teammates at Barcelona.
