Spurs' Dele Alli hit with three match UEFA ban for horror tackle

London (AFP) – Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was banned for three European club matches by UEFA on Friday for his sending off against Gent last month.

Alli received a straight red card in the 2-2 draw at Wembley for his horror tackle on Gent’s Brecht Dejaegere, which saw the Premier League club knocked out of the Europa League with a 3-2 aggregate loss.

The 20-year-old speared his right foot high into Dejaegere’s shin. The Belgian midfielder was able to continue but had to be later substituted, limping off with a bloodied shin.

“Tottenham Hotspur FC player Dele Alli has been suspended for three (3) UEFA competition matches for which he would otherwise be eligible,” a UEFA statement read. 

“The charges related to a red card given to Dele Alli during the match.”

The 20-year-old will miss the first three games of next season’s Champions League if Spurs qualify for the tournament again.

Alli’s absence will come as a huge blow to Spurs, who flopped in this season’s Champions League in the group stages, before losing to Gent in the last 32 of the Europa League.

They are on course to qualify for Europe’s premier tournament again, sitting second in the Premier League table, but their chances of reaching the knock-out stages will be hampered without Alli.

The midfielder admitted he felt “horrible” following his challenge on Dejaegere.

It was Alli’s first straight red card of his career but he received a retrospective three-match ban at the end of last season for punching West Brom’s Claudio Yacob in the stomach.