Premier League strikers Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson have given their reaction to the way Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma demanded a red card for Nelson Semedo against Wolves.
Wanderers fell to a 3-2 defeat at Molineux last weekend against the Seagulls.
The big moment in the game came just before half-time when Mitoma latched onto a ball over the top.
The winger gathered the ball, but was then bundled over by Semedo as he made his way towards the penalty area.
Semedo was dismissed for having denied a goalscoring opportunity.
Immediately after the foul was committed, Mitoma gestured frantically for the referee to brandish a red card.
The incident was a topic of conversation on this week’s Footballers Football podcast with Antonio and Wilson.
Wilson said: “On the pitch I’m a different person. I will win by any means necessary. But that’s not to say I want to see people get sent off.
“Obviously if you’re through on goal and it’s last man I’m like ‘Ref, he’s last man, he’s got to go’. But ultimately, 10 vs 11, your odds of winning increase massively.
“I’m not going up there waving the card, I’m just saying ‘Ref come on, get hold of the game. Second yellow’. Planting seeds in his head.”
Wilson then stated that such behaviour is not needed due to the existence of VAR now.
Antonio added: “To be fair it’s more in Europe. You don’t really see it in the Premier League.
“It’s just one of those things at the end of the day. It’s all mind games. Football is all mind games. You’ve just got to drop little things in. Showing the card, I think that’s terrible. It’s something frowned upon in football, I feel.”
Mitoma’s gesture against Wolves was frustrating to see, but he planted the seed
Antonio is right. Gesturing for a red card to be shown to an opponent in football is frowned upon.
But at the same time, it’s a tactic that can apply pressure to a referee.
Mitoma’s behaviour would instantly have planted the seed and perhaps made Graham Scott and VAR more sure that Semedo needed sending off.
It wasn’t an absolutely clear-cut decision. But Mitoma may have removed any doubts with his furious reaction.
It is one of those things that is very annoying to see from an opposition player. But if it was the other way round and a Brighton player was being dismissed, fans would obviously turn a blind eye.