Dele Alli Sent Off 10 Minutes into Como Debut on First Game in 748 Days

After 748 days, former Tottenham sensation Dele Alli finally returned to football, only to be sent out for Como. The 28-year-old’s comeback was brief as he just played 10 minutes after substituting in during his team’s 2-1 Serie A loss to AC Milan on Saturday night. He had planned to rekindle his career in Italy.

As the visitors sought a well-earned point at the San Siro, Como manager Cesc Fabregas pulled Lucas Da Cunha from the bench and called up Alli. However, when he carelessly slid his studs down the back of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s legs, his comeback took a terrible turn.

After the referee was advised to rewatch the incident on a pitchside monitor, play was stopped for a VAR review, and his initial yellow card was upgraded to a straight red. His comeback after two years off the pitch did not go as everyone had hoped or anticipated, especially because he battled mental health concerns while playing in the Premier League.

Dele Alli Sent Off in First Appearance in Over Two Years

The midfielder was making his debut for Serie A outfit Como

Former Tottenham teammate Kyle Walker, who moved to Milan from Manchester City in January, begged Matteo Marchetti to have some regret as the Englishman left for an early shower. However, his cries for Alli to avoid a red card during stoppage time were dismissed. See the entire incident below:

VAR. Dele Alli's yellow card is upgraded to a red. Como down to ten men.#MilanComo 2-1 | 90'+1 #SempreMilan

— AC Milan (@acmilan) March 15, 2025

What Happened to Dele Alli

The rise and fall of an English wonderkid

Back before Euro 2016, when no one else was giving the country much optimism, Alli was predicted by many to be England’s next big thing. After coming from MK Dons, he scored double digits of Premier League goals for Tottenham in his first season.

After that, Alli had a career-best 2016–17 season, scoring 22 goals in 50 games for Spurs. Under Mauricio Pochettino, he complemented Harry Kane brilliantly, helping the team achieve their highest league finish since 1963. He was unable to regain his form once Pochettino left, and he would eventually disclose his issues with childhood sexual assault following poor performances at Everton and Besiktas.

He disclosed in the same enlightening interview in 2023 that he used booze and sleeping pills to deal with life’s stresses, which ultimately led him down a perilous career path where he was never able to regain his former glory. His transfer to Como at the beginning of 2025 was his first chance at atonement after he checked himself into recovery two years prior.

The gifted midfielder, who still has time before turning 30, hasn’t had a simple start to life in Italy. It would be foolish to expect him to allow this difficult beginning to derail his goals of restarting his career, though, given how much he has previously endured.