- Joao Pedro was handed a yellow card for his clash with goalie Christian Walton
- Some fans defended him while others were aghast it was not a sending-off
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Are Everton where they deserve to be or are the club’s fans delusional?
Brighton star Joao Pedro has been criticised for a ‘shocking’ foul on Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton which saw him handed a yellow card on Thursday night.
Early in the second half, the forward was chasing down the ball as it rolled to Walton and as the goalkeeper went to clear it, he leapt into him.
Both players were airborne as they collided, but Walton came out of the clash clutching his head and Pedro was shown a yellow card.
The VAR officials did check the incident but decided to stick with the on-field decision, a call which has divided opinion.
Just weeks ago, Pedro provoked a strong reaction when he tried to elbow Brentford star Yehor Yarmoliuk in the face but missed by inches. Yarmoliuk had dragged Pedro back to stop a Brighton counter. VAR official Chris Kavanagh determined there was no violent conduct as he didn’t make contact.
Responding to Pedro’s latest misdemeanour against Ipswich, one fan wrote: ‘Red all day. Shocking.’
Joao Pedro has been criticised by some fans – and defended by others – for this clash with Christian Walton
Walton received medical attention and VAR judged that a yellow card for Pedro was fair
It comes just weeks after Pedro escaped a red card despite attempting to elbow Brentford’s Yehor Yarmoliuk
Another said: ‘Very dangerous. Deffo knows what he’s doing there. The jump makes a huge difference on the intent of the collision.’
One sarcastically added: ‘When I’m trying to slow down and avoid contact with people, I find it’s best to reduce all contact with the ground and just throw myself in the direction I don’t want to go in.’
‘The elbow the other week and now this; is Joao Pedro blackmailing PGMOL?’ another asked pointedly.
Not every fan saw it in the same way.
‘This is just one of those things. I challenge anyone to stop dead when running at speed and in the air. Impossible,’ one said.
‘Ridiculous that people think this is a red,’ said another.
‘I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this? He just can’t slow down so turns so he doesn’t get hit in the face,’ commented one.
Brighton recorded their first Premier League win since November, stopping the rot of an eight-game winless run.
Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter were on target as the Seagulls beat Ipswich 2-0 and rose to ninth in the Premier League.
