Jamie Vardy Receives Red Card vs. West Ham: Latest Details and Reaction

Leicester City's Premier League title bid suffered a substantial blow after star striker Jamie Vardy was sent off in Sunday's clash against West Ham United.

The England forward was shown a second yellow card by referee Jonathan Moss for an alleged dive inside the Hammers' area while attempting to win a penalty, per Sky Sports Football:

Former Leicester striker Gary Lineker disagreed with the decision, however, and felt the Foxes forward deserved his spot kick after colliding with defender Angelo Ogbonna:

Vardy was visibly incensed after being forced to leave the pitch, having earlier scored on the back of a wonderful run to fire Leicester into a 1-0 lead:

Moss' red card decision divided opinion. The ball was rolling to the left side of West Ham's goal as Vardy attempted to get on the inside of Ogbonna, but the former Fleetwood Town man went a touch too far before the tangling of their legs resulted in a fall.

Oliver Kay of the Times explained that Vardy was to be held culpable for initiating the contact:

James Dall of ESPN FC and Peter Hall of Sky Sports were also among those who concurred with the official's decision:

Sky Sports Statto pointed to Moss' unfortunate record in games involving the east Londoners:

Those who looked upon Vardy as the culprit in the incident agreed it was a poor attempt from the player in trying to earn his side a penalty:

The red card means Vardy will miss next Sunday's home fixture against Swansea City, and Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri will look to either Shinji Okazaki or Leonardo Ulloa to replace him up top.

However, it's great news as far as Tottenham Hotspur are concerned, as the north Londoners are looking to claw their way up to first place with only a handful of league matches remaining, per Breathe Sport:

"

Spurs fans watching Jamie Vardy get sent off... pic.twitter.com/NcZ1cw0NFY

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) April 17, 2016"

Leicester have been a transformed team this season, but there's no doubting the fact that Ranieri has come to lean largely on the attacking majesty of Vardy and Riyad Mahrez for much of their success.

The former's one-match absence will put the Foxes under pressure and throw a late curveball into the Premier League title hunt, forcing the side to prove they are still capable of winning without their Player of the Year contender.