Southampton's Stephens received one of the most unusual red cards in Premier League history

Southampton captain Jack Stephens faces a three-match ban after being shown a straight red card for pulling Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella's hair.

The 30-year-old defender was sent for an early shower by referee Tony Harrington, who had initially missed the incident.

But after being called on the pitch monitor by VAR official Matt Donohue, Harrington was shown a red card for 'violent behaviour' after Stephens pulled Cucurella by the hair, who collapsed on the pitch.

At the time, Chelsea were 3-1 up after just 39 minutes thanks to goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke.

"Well he didn't go down for no reason," said commentator Stephen Warnock as he watched the incident. "He pulled out his hair. Now, people will say it was minimal, but it doesn't matter. He is within his right to fall to the ground and make the most of it."

Chelsea finally triumphed 5-1 against Southampton to go to second place with 28 points./Telegraph/