Kyle Walker has admitted that his ‘heart kicked in’ during the Dele Alli red card incident against AC Milan a few weeks ago.
Walker’s actions towards the end of Milan’s win over Como last month have divided opinion, specifically his reaction to Alli being sent off. Some fans and pundits didn’t understand why he protested a decision that actually helped Milan.
As a reminder, Alli was initially shown a yellow card for a nasty challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek in which he raked his studs down his calf. After a VAR check it was upgraded to a red card but as referee Matteo Marchetti was about to show the red, Walker ran over and tried to convince him not to.
Walker spoke on his own show The Kyle Walker Podcast on BBC Sounds and he revisited the incident that took place at San Siro, with talkSPORT relaying his comments.
“I think my heart kicked in. Anyone else, I would have just let them get sent off. But with Dele, I know how hard he’s worked to get his chance at Como. It’s a good club for him to try and revive his career,” he said.
“We wanted 10 men, but for the personal relationship that I have with Dele, for the years I’ve known Dele, for what he’s been through – which he’s publicly said and I think he’s been very strong and open about that – to then get sent off for not really a cynical challenge, he was a little bit hard done by,” he added.
Following the match, Dele addressed the red card on social media, writing: “Two years! Not necessarily how I planned it, but we keep moving.” He also shared a screenshot of messages with Loftus-Cheek, who he fouled.
Walker concluded: “Would I have done it [the social media posts]? Maybe not, but Dele thought that was the right thing – probably to say sorry to the fans and show that there was no malicious thought in it. That’s the world that we live in now.”
