Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has slammed what he described as another “ridiculous” refereeing decision after Micky van de Ven was sent off for a challenge on Ismaïla Sarr.
The controversial moment occurred during Tottenham’s intense Premier League clash, where Van de Ven was shown a straight red card following minimal contact with Sarr as the winger attempted to burst into the penalty area. While the referee immediately deemed the challenge a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, Neville believes the punishment was massively exaggerated.
Speaking during the broadcast, Neville did not hide his frustration.
“This is exactly what fans mean when they say teams are being robbed again by decisions like this,” Neville said. “The touch from Van de Ven is too soft to send a player off. It’s barely enough to knock Sarr off balance.”
The former defender argued that while there was slight contact, it simply did not justify the extreme punishment of a red card — a decision that ultimately forced Tottenham to play the remainder of the match with ten men.
Neville added:
“Look at it again in slow motion. There’s a tiny touch, yes, but football is a contact sport. Players brush against each other all the time. If that’s a red card, we’re going to see ten of them every weekend.”
The decision quickly sparked outrage among Tottenham supporters inside the stadium and across social media, with many claiming their side had once again fallen victim to harsh officiating.
For Spurs, the sending-off proved to be a turning point in the match, dramatically shifting the momentum and leaving the team scrambling defensively against a growing wave of pressure.
Neville also questioned the role of VAR, suggesting the technology should have intervened to review the severity of the contact before the final decision was made.
“VAR exists to correct clear errors,” he said. “If officials look at that and still think it’s a red card, then we’re in real trouble.”
The incident is likely to spark fresh debate about consistency in Premier League officiating, with many pundits already questioning whether the threshold for red cards is becoming too low.
For Tottenham fans, however, the verdict is already clear.
In their eyes, the club has been “robbed again.”