Two journalists bemoaned James Tomkins' soft red card that he picked up in Crystal Palace's 3-0 defeat at home to Fulham in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Palace beaten by Fulham

The Eagles returned to league action for the first time since the middle of November, with the World Cup halting the domestic top-flight season for six weeks.

It proved to be a bitterly disappointing afternoon for Patrick Vieira's men, though, with Bobby Decordova-Reid, Tim Ream and Aleksandar Mitrovic all scoring for the visitors, while both Tyrick Mitchell and James Tomkins received red cards for the home side.

The result leaves Palace 11th in the Premier League table ahead of their trip to Bournemouth on New Year's Eve.

The Latest: Journalists bemoan Tomkins red

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic's Matt Woosnam bemoaned Tomkins' second-half dismissal, with the incident looking harsh after a clash with Mitrovic. He tweeted:

"Another red card for Palace. James Tomkins sent off for two yellows. Oh dear."

Meanwhile, The Guardian's Ed Aarons also voiced his disapproving thoughts on the matter on Twitter, lamenting:

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The Verdict: Ridiculous decision

Although Palace deserved nothing from their performance against Fulham, the decision to send off Tomkins effectively ended any hope of them getting anything from the game.

It was a ludicrous call from referee Andrew Madley, with almost no contact made with Mitrovic, whose playacting played a huge role in the Eagles defender being given his marching orders.

The fact that VAR couldn't intervene because it was a second yellow card is all the more infuriating, with the Premier League surely having to look into changing the rule to prevent ludicrous incidents such as these.

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