Leeds United will be looking to have center half Pascal Struijk’s red card rescinded after horror incident against Liverpool
The tackle happened just before the hour-mark at the halfway line in the tense Premier League clash. The Leeds defender appears to attempt to reach around Elliot to tackle and win the ball.
Struijk’s trailing leg landed on top of the 18-year-old’s foot and his body weight caused a severe dislocation in Elliott’s leg.
There was visible distress on the faces of the Liverpool and Leeds players. Craig Pawson spared no time in showing the Dutch defender a red card.
Elliott was rushed to hospital and it is now confirmed that the teenager dislocated his ankle.
Class from Harvey Elliott 😍 pic.twitter.com/q1RS91gKvu
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) September 12, 2021
How will the red card affect Leeds?
This red card for Struijk spells even more bad news for Leeds after defender Diego Llorente was taken off injured after half an hour. Along with a sidelined Robin Koch, the Whites only have one remaining center half, captain Liam Cooper.
They may now be forced to play fullback Luke Ayling in the center for their next few matches.
🗣 "If he hadn't of broken his ankle, would he have sent him off? I don't think he would."
Jamie Redknapp disagrees with the decision to send off Pascal Struijk for his challenge on Harvey Elliott pic.twitter.com/pL2p8B6Yl8
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 12, 2021
Can Leeds review the three-game ban?
Struijk’s three-match ban would last until Saturday, 2nd October. He will miss matches against Newcastle and West Ham in the Premier League as well as Fulham in the EFL Cup.
The Leeds owner spoke in a live interview with Sky Sports about the incident:
“Obviously, the accident, it was hard for him and I wish the boy a full recovery, I hope we can get that soon, but this is part of football.
“It’s really difficult to take a red card like that and for me, it wouldn’t even be a yellow, but I feel sorry for the boy and the injury could be difficult for him.”
The incident has drawn similarities to the Heung-Min Son tackle on Andre Gomes more than a year ago. After a review, the Spurs winger had his ban rescinded and many expect the same to happen to Struijk.
