West Ham will be without Mohammed Kudus for over a MONTH after his red card against Spurs.
The Ghanaian forward went from hero to villain for the Hammers in North London on Saturday afternoon. He had opened the scoring for Julen Lopetegui’s men with a well-taken strike.
But his outing took a turn for the worst. West Ham eventually fell to a 4-1 defeat with Kudus getting sent off late on with the intervention of VAR.
He appeared to kick out at Micky van de Ven, while also clearly pushing both the Dutchman and his Spurs team-mate Pape Matar Sarr in the face. Referee Andy Madley initially brandished a yellow but changed his mind after reviewing the decision on the VAR screen.
A statement from the Premier League read: “The referee issued a yellow card to Kudus. The VAR deemed that his actions were violent conduct and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card.”
And Kudus will now be missing for three matches due to the decision being violent conduct and will see him miss games against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. Despite that, his absence will be even longer.
The November international break will bring Premier League football to a pause, meaning that Kudus’ next earliest appearance will come against Newcastle on November 25. West Ham boss Lopetegui gave his verdict on the dismissal after the game.
Did Kudus deserve a red card against Spurs? Share your thoughts in the comments below
"I did not see the action back on TV but I think that if the referee reviewed it and decided that it was a red card then I cannot have a doubt," the Spaniard said. "Maybe it is another point to improve, when we suffer in the bad moments we keep calm and fight to the end as a team."
Meanwhile, pundit Ally McCoist claimed that Kudus should not have been sent off. Speaking on TNT Sport, he said: “I'll be honest, I'm probably old-school. Give him a booking and let's get on with the game.”
The defeat to Spurs leaves West Ham 14th in the Premier League with just two wins from eight games. Their stuttering start comes after a summer in which the Hammers spent hugely during Lopetegui’s first window at the helm.
The Londoners spent over £120m on new signings including lucrative moves for Max Kilman, Crysencio Sumerville and Niclas Fullkrug.