Gary Lineker's fury after Tottenham vs Liverpool red card - 'It's absolutely nothing'
Xavi Simons was shown a red card for a late challenge on Virgil van Dijk during Tottenham's 2-1 Premier League defeat against Liverpool on Saturday but Lineker disagrees with the call
Gary Lineker believes Tottenham midfielder Xavi Simons shouldn't have received a red card during Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Spurs on Saturday. The Netherlands international was dismissed in the 33rd minute after a contentious tackle on Virgil van Dijk.
Van Dijk had played the ball back to Alisson Becker when Simons seemed to make contact with the Liverpool skipper's Achilles. Referee John Brooks initially brandished a yellow card, but VAR prompted him to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
Brooks then decided to upgrade the caution to a dismissal, leaving Tottenham with ten players. Spurs boss Thomas Frank was incensed by the verdict in his post-match interview, declaring the "game is gone", whilst Arne Slot felt Simons hadn't deliberately tried to harm Van Dijk.
The former Everton and Tottenham striker has now weighed in with his thoughts on the sending-off. "I'm going to have a little but of a rant myself here," he said on the Rest Is Football podcast.
"I know in slow motion you can pick it apart, his [Xavi Simons] studs may have caught the back of his [Virgil van Dijk] calf, but the fella is just trying to put his foot on the ground I mean there's absolutely zero intent.
"I mean yes, Virg might have got hurt, that happens in football, it happens all the time, doesn't mean to say it's a vicious foul. I just can't stand red cards for things like that, it was nothing. It's another one of those that looks in slow motion, you go 'ooh, blimey, he's raked down the back of his calf'.
"In normal speed it wasn't that, it's not like that at all. It's not like that at all. And I know they all thought it was a red card and you two may think it's a red card, and I understand now that when they look at things, they might go and break it down so slowly, but when you see it in normal speed, it's just his foot landing, he flicks him.
"It's nothing, it's absolutely nothing." Alan Shearer added: "It's totally accidental, totally accidental, yeah."
Lineker went on: "Yellow card would've sufficed." Meanwhile, Simons issued an apology following the match. He posted on social media: "Mistakes happen. Virg is my captain, I would never intentionally hurt him or anyone.
"To my Spurs teammates, my manager and the fans, I take responsibility. I'm really sorry."
Van Dijk then offered his own assessment, saying: "I don't think there was any intention to hurt me but obviously he hurt me and then the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off.
"I spoke to him. It's a chat that no-one needs to know."