What happened to Andre Gomes eclipsed everything. Everything seemed less important, as both under-pressure managers admitted, because of the awful injuries sustained by the Everton midfielder whose season is ended.
Gomes fell badly as his right ankle twisted one way and his right leg twisted the other as a result of Son Heung-min’s challenge, which resulted in the Tottenham striker being sent off. The ankle was left at an abnormal angle, almost 90 degrees to Gomes’ leg.
The atmosphere at Goodison Park was charged with emotion. There were tears on the pitch, not least from Son, who caught Gomes, with referee Martin Atkinson first him a yellow card and then revising it to a red card, probably as the gravity of the injury reached him. The VAR, Anthony Taylor, did not interfere in the sending off, which was later explained by the Premier League because Son had “endangered the safety of a player,” but in reality, and despite the damage done, it did not appear to be the correct judgement. It was a mistake. There was no malice present. However, it remains to be seen whether Spurs would appeal the three-match punishment.
Son would not have been able to continue in any case. He appeared devastated and shocked by what had occurred. The Korean was visibly upset as he was escorted away by Tottenham’s first team coach Miguel D’Agostino, while other players clutched their faces, looked away in fear, and burst into tears, notably Serge Aurier, against whom Gomes had crashed.
It left Spurs with 10 minutes of regular time and 12 minutes of added time – with two long VAR checks adding to the additional minutes – but they couldn’t cling on as Cenk Tosun scored a header in the 97th minute to cancel out Dele Alli’s goal. Both teams required a victory. But, in the end, it was a game and an outcome that suddenly seemed less important than the wait for news on Gomes, who was transported to the hospital right away.
“He can’t even raise his head. It’s heartbreaking to watch,” Alli added of Son, with Everton captain Seamus Coleman also visiting the Spurs changing room to console his opponent and manager Marco Silva.
