TOTTENHAM fans were at a loss to explain Erik Lamela's yellow card on Saturday following the introduction of new rules.
The Argentine was handed a booking as he left the pitch late on in Spurs' 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
Debate broke out over the reason for the yellow card, with some suggesting it was for not exiting the pitch at the nearest point.
Such a punishment would follow the guidelines of recently introduced rules to the game, which aim to speed substitutions up.
For example, Andreas Pereira correctly left the pitch during Manchester United's game with Chelsea on Sunday – and had to walk all the way around Old Trafford to reach the dugout.
But Spurs fans felt aggrieved as Villa players came off in the same manner at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Twitter user Marc posted: "Please can someone explain the new sub law this season… where a player should leave the pitch at nearest exit point, two Villa players walked 50yds across the pitch yesterday from far side to near, way longer, ref does nothing… Lamela does the same & gets booked… Explain please."
Others pointed out that Lamela could instead have been booked for time wasting.
Again, though, that failed to calm Tottenham supporters unhappy with Villa keeper Tom Heaton's antics before their side got back into the game.
One fan, Gatsby, wrote online: "Looking back, how can Lamela get booked for not taking the quicker route off the pitch yet Heaton not get booked for the amount of time wasting he was doing?"
Another, Martin, lamented: "Lamela booked for not leaving the pitch correctly… Heaton takes hours over goal kicks nothing."
The away side led after John McGinn's opener and Spurs struck late through Tanguy Ndombele to level matters, Harry Kane's brace sealing the points at the death.
Source: Read Full Article