Source: PA
Harry accepts Defoe red
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp did not criticise referee Martin Atkinson for Jermain Defoe's sending off, although he was not pleased with the officials overall performance in his side`s 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Defoe was shown a straight red card for an elbow in the face of James Collins. It appeared to be harsh because although Defoe led with his arm in jumping for a high delivery, his eyes were focused on the ball at the time.
"I haven't seen it (the red card) since, but at the time I didn't have any arguments," said Redknapp. "I certainly wouldn't say I think he (Defoe) would go at the player intentionally though. Maybe it was just a little centre forward's challenge. The referee is a good referee, but he had a bad game."
Redknapp saw his side triumph courtesy of two goals from Rafael van der Vaart and he was content with his team's display, adding: "It was an excellent performance. We started brightly and went one-up.
"Losing Jermain Defoe obviously made it difficult, but we kept ball well in the first half. It was a bit more difficult to do that in the second half.
"I said at half-time we could hit them at the break, which we did. It was a fantastic second goal. The movement by Gareth (Bale) and then the finish by Rafa."
