Modric is concerned that players are too reckless in their tackling

Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric has accused Sunderland's Lee Cattermole of putting his career in jeopardy with a tackle that could have broken his leg.

Cattermole was a shown a yellow card for the challenge he made in the 69th minute of the 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

Modric said: "I jumped and got out of the way at the last second. Maybe if I stayed on the floor I would have broken my leg - jumping has probably saved me.

"He should have got a red card but the referee decided differently."

The tackle sparked a brief melee between the players and Modric believes the situation could be avoided if players considered their actions.

"Players who tackle like that need to think before making a tackle because they can ruin careers of friends and professionals," he added. "They just need to think about it.

606: DEBATE I think the challenge deserved a straight red. It was crude, completely missed the ball, and went over the top of the ball instead of trying to win it Oleg Luzhny

"He should have been sent off. I can't show you now but there is a big swelling on my knee.

"When you see tackles like that, it is a little upsetting, and if they are not punished properly then even more so."

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp also felt Cattermole should have been dismissed by referee Howard Webb, who was involved in another controversial decision when he booked Tottenham's David Bentley for diving in the box following a challenge from Boudewijn Zenden.

Of the two incidents, Redknapp said: "It was a bad tackle in my opinion and could have broken [Modric's] leg easily.

"And [the challenge on Bentley] was a penalty, a blatant penalty. How he [Webb] can book him... it just sounds like I'm criticising [Webb] but they were two key decisions that I felt weren't right."

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