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Football

25th Aug 2018

FPL players fume as Richarlison gets soft red card at Bournemouth

Simon Lloyd

A blow for Everton (and lots and lots of FPL players up and down the country)

It’s early days yet, but in his first couple of games for Everton, Richarlison has shown plenty of promise.

Signed from Watford for £40m, the Brazilian marked his debut with a brace at Wolverhampton. He scored again during his first game for the club at Goodison Park, a goal that proved to be winner against Southampton.

His third game, however, didn’t quite go to plan. Away at Bournemouth, Richarlison was shown a straight red card after an incident involving Adam Smith shortly before half-time.

Footage (which we’re not permitted to use) shows Richarlison exchanging words with the defender as Leighton Baines prepares to take an Everton throw-in. 

The pair are soon face-to-face, and Richarlison leans his head towards Smith

Contact is minimal, but after a split second, Smith holds his head…

… and begins to appeal to the referee

Seconds later, Lee Probert shows the 21-year-old a red card.

Although the sending off was undeniably soft, Richarlison’s decision to move his head towards Smith presented the referee with no choice. Rules are rules and Everton will now be without their star man for the next three games.

It also came as bad news for the many FPL players who had opted to stick him in their team following his early season form…