Southampton defender Jack Stephens was shown a straight red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair during the first half of Wednesday’s Premier League match against Chelsea.
With Southampton trailing 3-1, Stephens committed the foul as players gathered in the penalty area for a corner. After reviewing the incident on the VAR screen, referee Tony Harrington awarded a red card, leaving Southampton with 10 men.
Despite being a man down, Southampton held off Chelsea’s attack for most of the second half. However, goals from Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho sealed a 5-1 victory for the Blues.
Cucurella, known for his long hair, has previously been a target for similar fouls. In 2022, Tottenham’s Cristian Romero pulled the same stunt, but no red card was issued at the time. Mike Dean, the Video Assistant Referee on that occasion, later admitted it was an error not to have instructed the referee to review the incident.
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