West Ham star forward Mohammed Kudus was given a straight red card after losing his head during his team’s thrashing by rivals Tottenham.
The winger struck out at two different players hitting them in the face when things got heated in the London derby, leading VAR to step in and ask referee Andrew Madley to reassess the situation after initially giving the Ghanaian star only a yellow card. With his team down 4-1, Kudus tried to make a run down the right wing but was effortlessly stripped of the ball by Spurs‘ Micky van de Ven.
In his attempt to regain possession, Kudus not only brought down the centre-back but continued to lash out at the Dutch international even after he had fallen. After being kicked twice by Kudus, the Tottenham defender pushed him away, before getting up and confronting him about his behaviour.
The 24-year-old Hammers man retaliated by pushing the defender in the face, causing both teams to get involved, with Van de Ven falling to the ground holding his eye. As Spurs players surrounded him, Kudus stepped back and bumped into Richarlison with the back of his head, as the Brazil international was rushing towards him, reports the Express.
In trademark fashion, Richarlison then made the most of the situation and rolled around on the ground. Pape Sarr then came to the defence of his team-mates and was met with a two-handed shove to the face from Kudus, in another display of violent conduct from the former Ajax star as he let his frustrations take over.
(Image: (Image: Getty))
After the more composed players on the pitch managed to separate the teams, referee Madley handed out a yellow card each to Van de Ven and Kudus. However, VAR stepped in to suggest an on-field review for violent conduct from Kudus. Madley reviewed the series of clips and subsequently changed his decision, sending off Kudus in what was an unwelcome setback for the Hammers in an already challenging campaign.
The loss leaves West Ham with eight points after the same number of matches, while Tottenham climbs back into sixth place. And Kudus will now be suspended for their next three games.