Referee Mike Dean's decision to send off West Ham's Tomas Soucek late into West Ham's 0-0 draw with Fulham has caused bafflement and outrage on social media.
Czech midfielder Soucek caught Aleksandar Mitrovic with his elbow just outside the penalty area - but the contact appeared fleeting and entirely accidental. There certainly wasn't any malice involved.
Yet Mitrovic went down clutching his face and Lee Mason - on VAR duty - told Dean to have a look at the incident.
Dean studied the monitor for almost two minutes before returning to the pitch and brandishing a red card at Soucek, who protested his innocence.
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Soucek and Mark Noble both tried to persuade Dean that this was anything but an incident of violent conduct, while Hammers boss David Moyes looks absolutely shocked on the touchline.
"I'm embarrassed for whoever has done VAR tonight," said Moyes post-match, per BBC Sport.
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"It was obvious to everyone it was accidental. I'm really embarrassed they chose to send him off. We want them to get the decisions right. It comes down to a poor decision and we can't do much about it.
"It's unfair to the boy. I'm sure they will come up with enough excuses to justify the reason for sending him off."
At least West Ham being down to 10 men did not impact the remaining minutes of the game, which finished in a stalemate.
Featured image credit: PA Images/Sky Sports
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Tomas Soucek, Football, Mike Dean, West Ham, Fulham, VAR
