Le Havre AC's new signing, Andre Ayew held a tight lip whether or not the referee was harsh to send him off after a supposed unintentional foul on his Le Havre debut.

Dede Ayew holds that he did not have much contact as interpreted by the referee, however, he respects the decision.

He said he was stunned when the card was flashed but after watching images of the incident he has had a cool head.

"Yes, it's true that it's soccer, it's soccer. I think that with enough experience, you can take a step back from situations, but I'm pretty calm after seeing the images again," he said at post-match.

"In terms of the game, in terms of the action, what I interpret is here he comes, there's a ball in thirty-fifty-fifty that's really being played between the two of them. He throws himself, he throws himself before me, I see him throw himself, he's going to get the ball before me, I lift my foot, trying to hold it back, and on the way to land I brush against his shin guard. And that's it, that was the referee's decision."

Ayew was sent off just two minutes into his return to the Ligue 1 after stamping Nantes defender Eray Comert.

Ayew replaced Loïc Négo in the 65 minutes to make his first Ligue 1 appearance since 2019 but he had tough luck as the referee deemed his challenge dangerous and thus sent him off.

Despite Le Havre completing the game with 10 men, they held the home side to a goalless draw.




EE/EK