AC Milan's full-back, Kyle Walker, spoke through his self-titled BBC podcast about his attempt to persuade referee Matteo Marchetti to avoid showing Dele Alli a red card on his Como Debut, but admitted he would not have done the same for any other opponent.
The Manchester City loanee, who played with Dele at Tottenham, said the following:
"I think my heart kicked in. Anyone else, I would have just let him get sent off, especially a man down at the San Siro. I know what he's tried to do. We've all done it where you just clip the ankles of someone and they don't get the counterattack. But maybe where he's not played for a couple of years and is out of the rhythm of the game and everything like that, he's caught Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] a little bit too high, and that was it. Of course, I think in footballing terms, we need 10 men. We want the 10 men, AC Milan want the 10 men. But [I appealed] for the personal relationship that I have with Dele, for the number of years that I've known Dele, for what he's been through."
Walker added:
"I know how hard he has worked, especially off the field, and then to get his chance now at Como, it's fantastic. I think it's a good club, good league for him to try to regenerate and revive his career," as relayed via ESPN.
