Ghana international Mohammed Kudus could be hit with a longer ban after being sent off for violent conduct during West Ham’s clash against Tottenham.
The 24-year-old initially shone with a brilliant opener, unleashing a powerful strike with his weaker foot to give the visitors an early lead, much to the delight of the away fans. Despite Kudus’ early heroics, West Ham faltered as Tottenham mounted an overwhelming comeback.
Dejan Kulusevski equalised shortly after Kudus’ goal, setting the stage for a second-half collapse.
Spurs took complete control, netting three times in the first 15 minutes after the break. The Hammers responded but could not keep the game in reach.
As the frustration mounted, Kudus let his emotions get the better of him, Eurosport reports.
The Black Stars playmaker was sent off in the 86th minute after an altercation with Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr.
Initially shown a yellow card by referee Andrew Madley, the decision was upgraded to a straight red following a VAR review....Read Full Article [Click Here>]
The incident began when Kudus kicked Van de Ven twice while the defender was on the ground.
After Van de Ven got up to confront him, Kudus escalated the situation by shoving him in the face. Despite attempts by his teammates to calm him down, Kudus also pushed Sarr in the face.
Violent conduct offences are a minimum three-game ban, but former referee Mike Dean said on Sky Sports that Kudus should receive a stricter punishment.
‘”When you see the footage back, the first one he could have got sent off for, which hopefully he has,'” Dean said via Daily Mail.
“Hopefully the second one the FA will then take retrospective action, so he’ll get done twice in my opinion because he’s hit two different players in the face on two occasions.”
Joey Barton received a nine-game ban for three separate violent incidents during his red card for Queens Park Rangers against Manchester City in 2012.
Kudus will now be sidelined for West Ham until after the next international break, with the forward set to miss key matches against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, and Everton.
