Southampton’s Jack Stephens receives one of the silliest red cards against Chelsea

In one of the most bizarre moments of the Premier League season, Southampton’s Jack Stephens was shown a red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.

Southampton were preparing for a corner kick in the 39th minute when their captain decided to pull Cucurella’s hair, causing the Chelsea defender to fall to the ground. The VAR summoned referee Tony Harrington to review the action. After some consideration, he returned and had no choice but to send Stephens off. An action in which Stephens had no reason to give the referees a decision that added insult to a poor first half.

The action was very reminiscent of the moment when Tottenham defender Cristian Romero pulled Cucurella’s hair in a game in the 2022/23 season, only this time referee Anthony Taylor decided against a penalty for the action.

After a promising start, costly errors saw the team fall to 1-3 before being reduced to 10 men. The Saints were big underdogs at the start of the game, but after the red card Southampton found themselves in a difficult situation. Pun intended.

Under the leadership of Enzo Maresca, Chelsea continue to impress from the start. Despite constant claims that the team is not in the title race, the points they have accumulated and their position in the table at Christmas could see the Italian change his tune.

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