Chris Wilder shares what he’s said to Everton loanee Mason Holgate after his horror tackle
Mason Holgate was shown a straight red card after VAR review for a high challenge on Brighton and Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has revealed Mason Holgate apologised to his team-mates after his red card in the 5-0 home defeat to Brighton.
Holgate joined the South Yorkshire club on loan from Everton in January as they attempt to battle against relegation from the Premier League. However, his start at Bramall Lane has been difficult after making his debut in the 5-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the beginning of February.
Things picked up for the 27-year-old in his next game against Luton Town, but his nightmare continued on Sunday inside 13 minutes against Brighton and Hove Albion. Keen to make an early impression, Holgate lunged into a challenge on the Seagulls' Kaoru Mitoma, catching him high on his left leg, studs first.
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Initially, the referee gave a yellow card, but after VAR interference, this was upgraded to a red. Down to ten men, the Blades were blown away by the visitors and succumbed to another heavy 5-0 defeat.
In his post-match press conference, Wilder revealed Holgate had apologised to his new teammates. He revealed: "He has apologised to the boys; he understands it, and he is an experienced pro.
"He has got it wrong, I want us to be competitive, I want us to win tackles, we can’t have a passive game. It is a competitive game, it is not a non-contact game but we have to get that right, Mason has to get that right.
"It is a huge setback for us in the approach to the overall game. I am torn, I am a competitor and I understand that it was a very, very strong challenge and the game has moved on.
"Some people won’t want the game to move and on and expect physical contact, excessive force or whatever you call it.
"Winning the ball and challenging in that way is deemed not acceptable. We have got no excuses, or nowhere to hide, the referee gave it a yellow card straight away but obviously when he went to the monitor and saw it slowed down and had somebody in his ear saying it was a red card.
"Better managers than me, quite a lot of them around at the moment I should imagine – bigger, better clubs than Sheffield United would have found it difficult to go down to 10 because of the way they play. The game was decided on that, I could say 100 per cent we would not have gone done 5-0."
While Wilder may have felt the slow-motion footage of the tackle caused the referee to brandish a red card following a VAR review, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp was adamant the right call was made. He said: "It's an assault. It's one of the worst tackles I've seen in years.
"Even in my era that would have been a scandalous tackle. How on earth Mitoma's managed to get his left leg out of the way, I've got no idea. Thank goodness he has, otherwise, that's career-ending. His career would be finished."