Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly insisted that his ejection in Tottenham's Premiership game against Blackburn Rovers was "uncalled for". The Egypt international was given his marching orders by referee Phil Dowd for an allegedly elbowing Michael Gray in stoppage time of the ill-tempered game that ended in a 1-1 draw on Sunday. "I really didn't deserve to get sent-off," Ghaly told FilGoal.com in a phone interview. "All I did was jump to get the ball and collided with Gray who over reacted so I'd get sent-off. "I don't believe I even deserved a yellow card," he added. Tottenham have challenged Dowd's decision to give Ghaly a straight red card, which could result in the player being suspended for three games. "It was a harsh decision against Ghaly. He never elbowed him. It was just a jump," said Spurs boss Martin Jol. An FA disciplinary commission is set to hear Ghaly's appeal later on Tuesday with Jol expected to be facing disciplinary charges for his outburst at the official.
Ghaly played a pivotal role in Sunday's game, winning the penalty kick that got Turkish international Tugay ejected and resulted in the equalizer for Spurs. "It's a clear penalty kick," said Ghaly. "But believe it or not, I don't think Tugay should have been sent-off either, because I wasn't in a scoring position when he brought me down." Blackburn are also contesting Tugay's red card. Ghaly's Egyptian teammate, Mido, jumped to his rescue, claiming that the referee's decision was exaggerated. "The most severe punishment would have been for Ghaly to get a yellow card for colliding with Gray, and that would just be to appease Blackburn's fans," Mido told FilGoal.com. Mido was himself a target of some accusations from Blackburn boss Mark Hughes after the game. Hughes claimed that the 23-year-old forward handled a cross in Spurs' box with his hand. "It was involuntary," said Mido. "The ball hit my shoulder and on to my arm before I cleared it, so I don't think that qualifies as a penalty kick."
