Don’t crucify Dele Alli •Spurs manager defends player after Europa League red card

TOTTENHAM manager Mauricio Pochettino has risen in defence of Dele Alli, after the player was sent out of a Europa League match on Thursday.

The midfielder was given a straight red card in Spurs’ Europa League match against Gent just as the English Premiership side were bundled out of the championship by their Belgian opponents.

Though Tottenham played a 2-2 draw on the night at Wembley with one of the Gent goals being an own goal from Harry Kane, Gent advanced to the quarter-finals of Europe’s second competition on 3-2 aggregate.

The 20-year-old was shown his first career  red card in the 40th minute for a horrendous knee-high tackle with his studs on Gent midfielder Brecht Dejaegere. And for this, he has come under serious criticism.

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said: “It’s a leg breaker. It could have finished the guy’s career, it was disgusting.”

Also former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas said on BT Sport: “It’s a shocker, a terrible, terrible challenge from Dele.”

But manager Mauricio Pochettino defended his young star, saying: ‘He was wound up, he was fouled three second before. It was a clear foul.

“For that he’s a great player. In the same way he is how he is. Because he’s very passionate about playing football. It’s only an action in football that sometimes happens.

“Now it’s time to give support because he’s very sad and disappointed in the changing room.

“He’s very disappointed. He knows he made a mistake. It was a sending off. Now he’s tried to move on, improve, that’s the situation.”