Chelsea suffered an embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, with Cole Palmer’s red card summing up a frustrating afternoon for the Blues. Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has since called for a rule change following the heated clash between the London rivals.

Palmer was fortunate to avoid a straight red for barging into Mateus Fernandes after becoming annoyed by the Spurs player’s deliberate handball to stop a Chelsea counter-attack. The Englishman was later sent off after receiving a second yellow card for stepping on Conor Gallagher in a late challenge.

The incident involving Palmer and Fernandes came shortly after Micky van de Ven’s strong tackle on Moises Caicedo, for which the Tottenham defender received a yellow card. Hackett has since singled out Van de Ven’s challenge, arguing that such tackles need to be “outlawed”.

Keith Hackett calls for rule change after Micky van de Ven’s challenge

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett reviewed Micky van de Ven’s challenge on Moises Caicedo and concluded that referee Chris Kavanagh and the VAR team made a mistake by letting the Tottenham defender stay on the pitch. He believes Van de Ven should have been sent off for serious foul play.

“He’s lucky. He came in at pace. He was out of control. And that foot was pretty high. And he came into contact with his opponent,” Hackett told Football Insider. “So when you look at the requirement for the law in terms of serious foul play, he escaped.

“Yes, he got a yellow card, but for me, that type of challenge has to be outlawed. Therefore, he’s very fortunate that he didn’t get a red. I think what happened afterwards took away the focus on that one incident.”

According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), a reckless challenge, in which a player “acts with disregard for the danger to an opponent”, warrants a yellow card. However, a tackle that “endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force” is classed as serious foul play and requires a red card.

Van de Ven’s challenge sits in a grey area between the two categories, as it could have been viewed as reckless or as endangering Caicedo’s safety. Hackett wants the rules to make it clear that similar tackles always warrant a red card.

How Micky van de Ven red card could have changed Chelsea vs Spurs

Had Micky van de Ven been sent off, the game could have looked very different. Tottenham led 1-0 at the time, but a red card would have left them with 10 men and given Chelsea a real chance to get back into the match.

The Blues would have had more time and space on the ball to push for an equaliser, while Cole Palmer might not have found himself in the situation that led to his second yellow card.

Instead, Spurs enjoyed the numerical advantage after Palmer was sent off. Tottenham were able to keep possession against 10-men Chelsea and see out the game without too much trouble, eventually winning 2-0.

Of course, there is no guarantee the Blues would have turned things around, but an equaliser or even a late winner would have been a much more realistic possibility with Spurs down to 10 men.