Daniel Gabbidon has slammed the decision to give West Ham United defender Arthur Masuaku a red card in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.
The former Hammers’ enforcer admitted that Masuaku can do some questionable things when defending, but was enraged with the ridiculous choice from referee Mike Dean to brandish a second yellow card.
Gabbidon took to his personal Twitter account during and after the game to voice his opinion on the challenge, which saw Ahmed Elmohamady go down despite little contact in the challenge.
“Mike Dean loves a card! Ridiculous that,” he wrote.
Gabbidon went on to sympathise with Masuaku in a further tweet, questioning the refereeing on display from Dean.
“Masuaku does some silly things but feel for him there, poor reffing.”
Having picked up a red-card, Masuaku will now face a one-match suspension, meaning he will miss the game against Manchester United on Sunday.
OPINION
The decision to hand Masuaku a second-yellow definitely seemed questionable once replays were shown of the altercation. Elmohamady does knock the ball down the line and the Hammers’ full-back is late, but it isn’t clear whether he actually makes contact with the Egyptian, who has gone down with ease throughout his career. Dean definitely took the bait, and the Villa defender unsurprisingly sprung back to his feet after the decision went his way. The 25-year-old has excelled so far this season, both going forward and in defence. As well as averaging an impressive four tackles per game according to WhoScored, the Democratic Republic of Congo international has also completed 2.3 dribbles – a skill that he has put to use, none better than the run he made to assist Sebastien Haller against Norwich City before the international break. Masuaku will certainly be a massive miss for the game against Manchester United, and Aaron Cresswell will have a big job to fill his shoes in that game at the London Stadium.
