Captaining Newcastle United is a rather prestigious honour but Jonjo Shelvey seems to have forgotten all about his responsibilities this afternoon.The former Liverpool midfielder was shown a straight red card for a deliberate stamp on Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli in Newcastle's season opener.It was a moment of madness from Shelvey, who committed the act in plain sight of referee Andre Marriner.
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Indeed, some are calling it the stupidest red card they’ve ever seen on Twitter.
Rafa Benitez’s side had managed to keep Tottenham at bay during the first half but Shelvey’s red card proved pivotal, with Alli giving the away side the lead 13 minutes after Newcastle went down to 10 men.
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer are among those to react to the sending off on Twitter.
Watch the video below.
Twitter reacts
Here’s how fans on social media reacted.
Alli himself isn’t known as the cleanest player in the game.
The 21-year-old has caused controversy throughout his career, including being shown a straight red card for a horrific challenge on Gent’s Brecht Dejaegere earlier in the year and receiving a retrospective ban for punching Claudio Yacob in a game in 2016.
But the England international vowed not to change his ways.
“I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about it but that’s the player I am and it’s been in my game every since I was a youngster,” the Spurs player said in June, per the Independent.
“That’s not something I am looking to change to be honest. Obviously I have made a few mistakes and hopefully you can tell that I have learnt from them but, like I say, it’s not something that I am worried about.
“Maybe if I didn’t have that in my game I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have done so far at this age.
“Like I say I am going to keep doing what I do and keep looking to improve.”
Alli doesn’t think he needs to change, and Tottenham won't want him to considering his enormous talent.
But Shelvey might want to.