Mason Holgate has been slammed from all quarters for a horrible foul on Karou Mitoma of Brighton on Sunday afternoon.
Sheffield United suffered their second successive 5-0 home trashing in the Premier League, and Holgate will have to take a large portion of the blame for the the decision he made when the match was still scoreless.
In the 11th minute, Mitoma was running with the ball when Holgate planted his right leg into the Japanese international's left thigh, an offence for which the referee initially only gave him a yellow card.
VAR intervened and Holgate was giving his marching orders, leaving the Blades to play around 80 minutes with ten men.
Mason Holgate is sent off for Sheffield United after just 10 minutes of play at Bramall Lane 🟥 pic.twitter.com/DO31aRgvEG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 18, 2024
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Jamie Redknapp: Mason Holgate foul was "assault"
At half-time, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp appeared in no doubt over recklessness of the challenge, as he slammed the Everton loanee.
It's an assault, one of the worst tackles I've seen in years. Even in my era, that would've been a scandalous tackle.
How on earth Mitoma's managed to get his left leg out of the way, I have no idea. Thank goodness he has, otherwise that's career-ending. His career would be finished.
The red card would prove to be a costly one, with Brighton going on to win the game in a comfortable fashion.
Mason Holgate is now also set for a spell on the sidelines, something that will not help Sheffield United in their unlikely quest to avoid relegation.
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"I feel so sorry for [Sheffield United boss] Chris Wilder in this instance. He's made plans and said, 'let's not make mistakes or give anything away this first 10 minutes', and you have a player that does that.
"I have no idea what he's thinking but he's cost his team. They've got to run around, chase, try and get in the game and obviously goals are going to come from that. But a scandalous tackle."
"It's one of the worst tackles I've seen in years" 😨
Jamie Redknapp says Mason Holgate's tackle on Kaoru Mitoma was 'scandalous'. pic.twitter.com/6PDmlG0Oyx— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 18, 2024
Evan Ferguson blanks again
It didn't take long for Brighton to capitalise on their numerical advantage, as they were 2-0 up by the 25th minute, before Ireland striker Evan Ferguson joined in the action from the bench on 66 minutes.
Ferguson was on the pitch for Brighton's final three goals but unfortunately for Ireland fans, he didn't get on the scoresheet himself as his recent barren spell continued.
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