Former Tottenham midfielder Dele was sent off on his debut for Serie A side Como after just 10 minutes on the pitch.
Dele - making his first appearance for 748 days - was initially shown a yellow card for raking down the ankle of AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek but saw the incident upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, despite the protestations of Milan defender and Dele's former team-mate Kyle Walker.
Como boss Cesc Fabregas was also sent off for his reaction to the incident.
The 28-year-old joined up with Fabregas' side in the January transfer window after leaving Everton as a free agent but had not made an appearance prior to Saturday's San Siro fixture.
Dele started on the bench, as he had for the last two games against Roma and Venezia, but was brought on in the 81st minute.
The midfielder now faces a ban having only just returned to competitive football, with his last outing for Turkish side Besiktas back in February 2023.
As it happened: Dele's red card vs AC Milan
Dele debut timeline
- 81st minute - Dele comes on to make Como debut
- 89th minute - Dele makes the challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek and is yellow carded
- 91st minute - Dele's yellow card upgraded to a red after VAR review
- 94th minute - Cesc Fabregas is also sent off for his reaction to the incident
Dele red card was 'harsh'
Fans across social media reacted to Dele's nightmare debut, with many of them rushing to the defence of the former Everton and Spurs man.
kojo1X: Kyle Walker pleading probably means it wasn't deliberate.
Football_Speak: The red card was a bit harsh, cut that poor lad some slack!
EnlightenEvo: That's not a red, what?
Kolijay99: This is just too sad
mbappe_spurs: Beyond heartbreaking
xXdavey2waveyXx: This hurt me
RosaneroENG: The guy can't catch a break
TS_Mbongwa: Dele will be back, good chapters coming
Riv158: He will he back stronger
