The Czech Republic were reduced to 10 men inside half-an-hour in their Nations League clash with England as Pavel Sulc was sent off following a VAR review.
Sulc, among the hosts’ most important players, had begun brightly and come close to opening the scoring, drawing a sharp save from James Trafford after breaking behind the visiting defence.
His night came to a premature end, though, after making contact with the leg of Elliot Anderson as he attempted to slide the ball away from the England midfielder.
After Anderson went down in pain, Turkish referee Umut Meler initially brandished a yellow card – though was soon advised to review the challenge on the pitchside monitor.
Czech Republic DOWN TO 10 MEN! 🟥
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 29, 2026
Pavel Šulc sees red for a dangerous challenge on Elliot Anderson#ITVFootball | @England pic.twitter.com/B2YOLuS0vL
In consultation with Fedayi San, the video assistant, Meler elected to upgrade his sanction given the height of Sulc’s challenge.
It was a verdict with which former England full-back Lee Dixon agreed.
“It’s halfway up his achilles, borderline [on his] calf,” Dixon assessed on ITV.
“He’s trying to win the ball, he’s late and he’s really high.“Endangering an opponent? No doubt at all. It’s a red card. You can’t complain about that.”
Both the Czech Republic and England were beaten in their opening Nations League encounters by Croatia and Spain respectively.
