Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu ‘unlucky’ to be missing last-16 Euros clash

BY MAX HALL

Chelsea player Ethan Ampadu can consider himself unlucky to be sitting out the biggest game of his Wales career on Saturday, according to international teammate David Brooks.

Speaking from the Wales camp in Rome this afternoon, Bournemouth attacker Brooks told the South London Press he thought Ampadu had suffered a harsh decision on Sunday when he saw red for a tackle on Italy’s Federico Bernardeschi in Wales’ final group game.

Discussing how the squad rallied round the Chelsea player, who spent last season on loan at Sheffield United, Brooks said: “Obviously everyone’s put their arm around him after the Italy game and it was probably a little bit harsh, the red, in my opinion.

“But it’s one of those things that can happen in football. At the start of the tournament we had a meeting with one of the referees and had an update of the slight changes [to the interpretation of the laws]. By the letter of the law, maybe, the ref’s shown red but, like I said, I personally thought it was a little bit harsh. But it can happen and you’ve really just got to get on with it.”