Manchester United forward Ella Toone was shown a controversial red card following an altercation with midfielder Eveliina Summanen during Sunday's Women’s Super League clash against Spurs.
With 11 minutes remaining of the game, England international Toone shoved Summanen after the pair appeared to tangle legs.
Summanen proceeded to hold her face, despite contact being made elsewhere, and referee Amy Fearn brandished a straight red for a moment that has since brought plenty of debate online.
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You can see the incident in full below. What do you think?
After the full-time whistle, Manchester United manager Marc Skinner accused Finland international Summanen of "play acting" during a post-match interview with Sky Sports.
He also suggested the club may appeal the decision.
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"The reality is there is no need to roll around holding your face," said Skinner via The Mirror. "My only gripe is she has held a part of her body that has not been touched.
"It's a foul and it's probably a yellow card after the foul from Tooney. We will look at the potential to appeal the decision. I don't want that (play-acting) to come into our game. It is just not a good sign from me.
"We all love Ella because she is herself. I want to see that fight from my team, it shows the fight and the commitment these players have for this club.
"We need to be looking at VAR. Anything that can help officials, sometimes they need help, we don't want to have a stand-off with officials every game. We have a responsibility as a league to make sure our officials can progress."
Toone, who will miss United's next three games against Durham, Leicester and Chelsea as a result of the sending off, also commented on the incident.
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She wrote on Twitter: "Pride myself on the passion and love I have when playing for this club. Hold my hands up for my reaction and I’ll learn from it. Proud of the team."
The 23-year-old appeared to hold her hands up for lashing out against Spurs on Sunday, but some fans aren't convinced it was a sending off.
One fan commented on the incident, saying: "A straight red for that? She didn't even touch her face at all, she only grabbed her sleeve so why is she holding her face? Ridiculous."
A second wrote: "That was never a red card for Ella Toone, barely touched her."
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A third said: "Ella Toone deserved that red card you can’t change my mind. Did the spurs player deserved a yellow card for holding her back? yes definitely but reacting that way and pushing her face/shoulder like that isn’t okay."
Thoughts on the red card?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Sky SportsTopics: Manchester United, England, Tottenham Hotspur, Womens Football, Womens Super League
