FORMER TOTTENHAM LEFT-BACK and Premier League cult hero Benoit Assou-Ekotto has claimed PSG forward Kylian Mbappé got him sent off during the Parisians’ 5-1 victory at Metz on Friday.
The 33-year-old Cameroonian cleanly took the ball during a challenge from behind on the young French star, and promptly received his marching orders from referee Sébastien Desiage as Mbappé rolled around on the canvas following a delayed fall.
Assou-Ekotto’s red came on the 56th minute with the scoreline level at one apiece. PSG went on to net four goals in the final half hour-plus, with Mbappé himself registering a first goal for his new employers.
Speaking to 20 Minutes in France, Assou-Ekotto was – albeit while laughing, as per their report – critical of Mbappé’s conduct, and offered a rather ominous solution if perceivably clean challenges were to continuously warrant red cards.
“He shouted loudly. I can’t take that away from him. It was a very loud scream.
“The referee can take 30 seconds, we are not in a hurry. I think the referee rushed [the decision].
Moral of the story, it’s better to smash the player – so that he has an injury and that we both come off the field – than to try take the ball and ultimately go off anyway.
The foul drew a mixed reaction in France, with some suggesting it was a legitimate sending off due to the tackle taking place from behind the attacker. The majority, however, perceived Assou-Ekotto’s sending off to be extremely severe given how cleanly he took the ball.
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