Former West Ham star Carlton Cole has slammed a "handsy" Aaron Cresswell after the defender was sent off for the second time in the Europa League knockout stages.
After being shown a straight red against Lyon in the quarter-final first-leg against Lyon, Cresswell was sent off for the exact same reason against Frankfurt, as he was deemed to deny a goal scoring opportunity. With West Ham already chasing a goal after being 2-1 down on aggregate, it was the last thing that David Moyes and his side needed.
Cole was furious with Cresswell at half-time as he blamed the defender for not learning from his mistakes, while also claiming that both red card offences were completely avoidable and that he cost West Ham.
At half-time, Cole ranted on BT Sport as he said: "You have to have learnt from his last mistake against Lyon. You can’t be handsy, unless it is appropriate. If he has not learnt from the last one, then this one was always going to be given.
"He was isolated one on one, and you just can’t be isolated, as soon as (Kurt) Zouma steps out, he is in trouble. He (Cresswell) will be disappointed, but it is what it is and the players out there have to deal with the consequences."
And he wasn't the only former West Ham star that was upset, as Joe Cole also gave his views on the incident. "It was the right decision," Cole added. "It was harsh on West Ham.
"It was a hopeful ball, (Kurt) Zouma comes out and tries to get there, argument there that he could of passed him on to Dec (Rice), (Aaron) Cresswell then goes with the runner and he gets clumsy, and it is the clear denial of a goal scoring opportunity. I felt like the ref didn’t want to see it, but as soon as he saw it on the replay. Cresswell will be disappointed and it has to be a sending off."
Initially Cresswell was given a yellow card for the foul, but after a lengthy pause the referee was told to go and have a look at the screen at the side of the pitch. And as soon as VAR intervened, Cresswell knew his fate, as his head slumped in disappointment.
And Owen Hargreaves thought it was an easy decision as soon as VAR was called into action. "When he looks at the replay back, it makes it quite easy for the referee," Hargreaves added. "Once the ball bounces, he (Cresswell) is in all kinds of trouble.
"He is on the wrong side, it bounces and puts him under pressure in one of the biggest games of his life. He just gets caught on the wrong side and the referee had to make that decision."
Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton admitted that he would rather the Frankfurt striker score than Cresswell recieve a red card, as he told talkSport: "It’s better the striker scores than Cresswell gets sent off. But this atmosphere, this pressure, it forces decisions and he made the wrong one.
"I’m sure he’s distraught inside the dressing room. There’s no way he meant it, but he can’t take it back. He has to hope West Ham can do something special."
