Former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher, claims Michael Oliver was right not to award Dejan Kulusevski and Spurs a penalty against Arsenal on Sunday.
The North London Derby was full of controversies, but the most headline-stealing moment came when Kulusevski appeared to be tripped in the box by a retreating Leandro Trossard. Not only was this a potential penalty for Spurs, but Arsenal then raced up the other end and scored a goal of their own.
As such, by bringing it back and awarding a spot-kick to the home side, the VAR would also have to rule out an Arsenal goal in the process. Unfortunately for Ange Postecoglou and co, the Gunners goal stood.
Should Tottenham have been handed a penalty?
Dermot Gallagher, who keeps up to date with the latest laws of the game, claims Spurs did not deserve a penalty for the trip because there was only ‘minimal contact’.
However, the two footballing pundits in the studio disagreed with the former referee on the matter, stating that a trip is a trip and Tottenham therefore deserved a penalty.
Spurs Web Opinion:
Contact is contact. If the contact was enough to clip Kulusevski’s heel, forcing his ankles together, then it wasn’t actually minimal within the context of the attack. Trossard didn’t mean it and it was unfortunate, but a penalty all the same. There is just no consistency with officiating at the moment.
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