Tom Cairney went from hero to zero in Fulham’s 1-1 draw at Tottenham. The Fulham captain had a dramatic 20-minute appearance off the bench. He was introduced in the 62nd minute with his team trailing after Brennan Johnson’s goal. Just five minutes later, Cairney scored a beautiful curling shot into the bottom right corner, earning a much-needed equalizer for Fulham. It was his first away goal since March 2010, when he played for Hull City. However, Cairney’s moment of glory quickly turned to disgrace.
In the 82nd minute, Cairney made a horrendous tackle on Dejan Kulusevski, which led to him being sent off. Initially, the referee, Darren Bond, gave Cairney a yellow card. However, after being instructed by VAR to review the tackle at the pitchside monitor, the referee upgraded the yellow card to a red. Replays showed Cairney’s studs-up challenge into Kulusevski’s calf, which could have resulted in a serious injury. Commentator Sam Ellard described the tackle, saying, “That could have broken his leg.”
After reviewing the challenge, the referee had no choice but to give Cairney a straight red card for serious foul play. This decision was confirmed by the Premier League Match Centre’s X account, which noted that VAR had recommended an on-field review. With this red card, Cairney will miss the next three matches for Fulham. He will be absent for the upcoming home game against Brighton, the match against Arsenal next Sunday, and the away trip to Liverpool on December 14.
Despite playing with ten men, Fulham managed to hold on to a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs were unable to take advantage of the man advantage, and the match ended in a share of the spoils. The result leaves Tottenham in seventh place, three points behind the top four, while Fulham remains in tenth place, just one point behind Spurs. Cairney’s sending-off marred an otherwise positive result for Fulham, but the team managed to escape without further damage.
