“I think it……”: Ex-PL referee Dermot Gallagher issues strong verdict over McGinn red card at Villa Park, slams Villa fans who blames officiating and send three-word message to Spurs fans after a clear footage of what happened is released [Full story link in comment]
Aston Villa captain John McGinn was sent off during the Villans’ 4-0 defeat to Spurs on Sunday afternoon, with plenty having an opinion on the decision of Chris Kavanagh including former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher.
Aston Villa’s hopes of securing a top-four finish were dealt a small blow on Sunday afternoon as Tottenham closed the gap between fourth and fifth with a win at Villa Park.
Unai Emery watched his side crumble in the second half to the North Londoners, as Spurs netted four goals after the interval, with things not helped by the dismissal of John McGinn in the 65th minute.
Villa were already 2-0 down at the point of their captain being shown a straight red card for his challenge on Destiny Udogie, a decision that has split opinion in the footballing world.
While the sending-off arguably didn’t have a significant impact on proceedings as Spurs were simply the better team on the day, Villa will now be without their skipper for three critical fixtures.
The decision to send off John McGinn has split opinion
The tackle that McGinn unleashed on Udogie showcased the captain’s frustrations as his side failed to match his intensity throughout the fixture.
Matters weren’t helped as the Scotsman went flying into the Spurs defender at speed on the touchline in front of the opposition dugout, igniting a brawl to raise tensions in the actions leading up to Chris Kavanagh showing a red card.
Two people who shared the opinion that McGinn should have remained on the pitch were Ollie Watkins and Joey Barton, who believed a yellow card could have sufficed to enable the 29-year-old to play out the remainder of the game.
Like any decision in football, opinions will be split when it comes to the calls of the referee however, given VAR’s review of the incident, not much could be argued when it came to McGinn’s early exit.
What Dermot Gallagher thought of the decision to send off John McGinn
Someone who did share a strong opinion that opposed the thoughts of Watkins and Barton was former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, who shared his verdict on Sky Sports after the fixture.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch section, Gallagher expressed that Kavanagh was ‘spot on’ with his decision to send McGinn off in the 65th minute of play.
“Credit to the referee here, cool, calm, composed, absolutely spot on.”
“If you see where John McGinn comes from, he comes a long way, comes at speed and intensity and if you look here, he’s never ever going to get the ball.”
It was a cynical challenge from the Villa skipper, who clattered into Udogie in an unthreatening area of the pitch, seeing his frustrations from the fixture pour out into the poorly executed tackle.
Giving a nod to Kavagnah’s decision on a weekend that provided plenty of controversy when it came to officiating, Gallagher supported the prompt on-field call.
“I think what the referee did well was he just took his time and ran it through his head and dismissed the player correctly.”
Placing the loss aside, the primary concern is that McGinn will now be suspended for Villa’s next three fixtures, with West Ham, Wolves and Manchester City posing difficult challenges for the Villans to overcome with limited options in midfield.
