Former Premier League referee comments on James’ red card

Leeds United moved one step closer to the Championship last night after losing 3-0 against Chelsea which keeps Jesse Marsch’s side in the relegation zone on goal difference having played a game more than their rivals Burnley and Everton. 

Leeds were up against it from the off, after Mason Mount put the Blues ahead after just four minutes, with Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku adding two more in the second half to secure the three points and a big win for Thomas Tuchel’s side’s confidence ahead of the FA Cup final at the weekend.

Aside from this, one of the biggest talking points from the game came in the 24th minute when Leeds’ Dan James was sent off for a horrific tackle on Mateo Kovacic, who was forced off not long after as a result of the collision.

Former Premier League referee, Mark Halsey, spoke exclusively to CaughtOffside about the incident and praised referee Anthony Taylor for his role, stating:

“It’s a very, very poor challenge, a challenge that endangers the player’s safety with excessive force. Anthony Taylor was in an excellent position, took his time, thought about it and then produced a red card, was absolutely spot on.”

“He was sent off for serious foul play and will face a three-game ban, no ifs or buts about it”, explained the former official.

The whole football world is in unison about this challenge and a red card was 100% the right decision, as Kovacic was lucky that the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

This is the second game in a row a Leeds player has been sent off, which must really annoy Jesse Marsch, as these players have a key role to play in Leed’s survival.

Leeds have two games left this season against Brighton and Brentford, and they will have to get something from at least one of those games in order to stay in England’s top division.