Video: Former Spurs ace Van der Vaart admits diving to ensure Lewandowski sees red after wild kick



Rafael van der Vaart has admitted that he dived to ensure Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski was sent off after he aimed a wild kick at his teammate.

Play was stopped after Lewandowski followed through on Per Skejbred when aggressively challenging for a bouncing ball.



In the aftermath, the Netherlands midfielder went down after confronting Lewandowski, with the Poland international then given his marching orders.

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Target: Dortmund fans were unhappy with Rafael van der Vaart after an earlier incident involving Sebastian Kehl

'It was a fiery match,' Van der Vaart said. 'In the scene with Lewandowski I had to do a bit of theatre.

'I had the feeling that he would not otherwise have been sent off. It was a clear red card,' he told reporters.

Hamburg were 2-1 up when Lewandowski was dismissed, and went on to win 4-1, but Van der Vaart dismissed the idea that the red card was key to the victory.

'Ultimately we won the game because we were better,' he stated.

Boiling point: Vander Vaart squares up to Robert Lewendowski

The former Tottenham man was instrumental in the victory, with the HSV’s sporting director Frank Arnesen singling him out for praise after the match.

'You saw again today how important he is to our team. He had an excellent game.'

He drew the ire of Dortmund fans, however, and was hit on the head with an object thrown from the stands when he was taking a corner. Van der Vaart was unhurt.

Video: Lewandowski's wild kick

