Dele Alli breaks silence on Como red card after Cesc Fabregas' brutal 'grave mistake' message

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It was a night of mixed emotions for Dele Alli as he marked his return to the football pitch after a two-year absence with a red card. Last playing a competitive game for Turkish side Besiktas in February 2023, the former Tottenham man departed Everton for Serie A club Como at the beginning of the year.

Working his way back to full fitness since making the switch to Italy, the 28-year-old, who had been an unused substitute in their previous two league games, was introduced by Cesc Fabregas for the final 10 minutes of their 2-1 defeat against AC Milan on Saturday evening. Dele would only be on the pitch for nine minutes after he was shown a red card for a challenge on former Chelsea man Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Dele caught his opponent on the back of the ankle and it initially resulted in a yellow card, before it was later upgraded to red following a VAR review. The player's Como teammates and AC Milan right-back Kyle Walker, a former teammate of the attacking midfielder at Tottenham, pleaded for the referee to show some leniency but the red card stood.

Taking to his Instagram account on Sunday, Dele broke his silence on his dismissal but claimed that it is "good to be back" on the pitch after such a lengthy absence. He penned: "I was always going to announce my return in some way after these past 2 years, would rather it had been with a goal but feels good to be back."

Speaking to the media after the game, Como boss Fabregas hit out at Dele for his "grave mistake" and mentioned that his player "perhaps didn't deserve this opportunity" after limited time on the training pitch recently.

"It was at that moment when Milan went 2-1 up and Sergi Roberto was meant to come on, but I’d prefer to give him another two weeks to train so he can be ready to start against Empoli," he explained (via Football Italia). "Dele Alli is a player who can score goals, he perhaps didn't deserve this opportunity because he has only been working with us for two weeks and has a lot to improve.

"It is a grave mistake, one that we should not see from a player of his experience. It was a clear red card, there's nothing to be said about that, he left the team down to 10 men during a crucial moment when we were pushing for 2-2. That is the most negative thing about this evening, but we keep going."

Dele will now serve a suspension for his red card and then hope to add to his solitary appearance in what remains of the season. Como are 13th in Serie A as things stand with nine games remaining in the 2024/25 campaign.

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