Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher has given his thoughts on the decision to send off Wilfried Zaha during the Eagles’ 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day. After the game, Gallagher said that he believed the first yellow card Zaha received wasn’t a bookable offence, but admitted the sending off made the match a much harder affair for the Eagles.
Conor Gallagher said: “A little trip – that’s not a booking. The second one maybe but it is what it is – that’s football. He said sorry in the changing room after so we’re going to forget about it, move on and focus on the next game.”
Crystal Palace’s assistant manager Osian Roberts – leading the team in place of Patrick Vieira who tested positive for Covid-19 in the build-up – said he hadn’t had a chance to see the incident yet but was upset with the decision nonetheless.
Osian Roberts said: “We’re disappointed as it made it such a difficult afternoon after a bright start.”
Palace weren’t only without Vieira for the match but also had to play without several first-team players who had returned positive Covid tests during the week. As a result, the Eagles’ bench had only seven players out of a possible nine, though Gallagher said the team wouldn’t be making any excuses for their performance.
Connor Gallagher added: “We said before the game we can’t make excuses. We’re playing the game so we need to do everything we can to win. It’s no excuse. Although there are a few players missing and the gaffer missing, we’re going to play like it makes no difference to us. I think maybe we could have done with a few of those players who weren’t there today but we’ll never know.”
Palace now have a quick turnaround before their next game at home to Norwich City on Tuesday afternoon.
