Micky Hazard has not minced his words regarding how differently Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have been treated this season by the officials.
The debate regarding the use of VAR and the lack of consistency has exploded over the last few weeks, with some controversial calls proving decisive at both ends of the table.
Tottenham themselves have been the victims of several extremely harsh calls this season, including their latest 2-2 draw against Leeds, where James Maddison was denied a late penalty.
On the other hand, their North London rivals have benefited from being on the right side of some dubious officiating, and one Spurs legend has called out the double standard.
Micky Hazard contrasts officiating on Kai Havertz to Tottenham’s Cristian Romero
VAR has once again been the talking point after Arsenal beat Burnley 1-0 to move a step closer to securing the Premier League title.
Kai Havertz, who scored the only goal of the game with a first-half header, caught Burnley’s Lesley Ugochukwu on the back of his calf with a late challenge in the 69th minute.
Despite the incident being reviewed by the VAR team, the referee, Paul Tierney, was not sent to the pitch side monitor.
Micky Hazard feels that the officials would have come to a much different decision if Romero had made a challenge similar to the Arsenal forward’s on Ugochukwu.
The former Spurs midfielder wrote on X: “It would have been a 50-game suspension if it were Romero, these refs and VAR officials, I have absolutely no idea what they are watching. Absolutely shocking challenge with no hope of getting the ball.”
Spurs fans have been extremely frustrated with officiating this season
Tottenham have still not been handed a single penalty in the Premier League this season, with the Lilywhites seeing several great shouts turned down while other sides have been handed fairly soft penalties.
Some Spurs fans have questioned if the officials want to see them go down this season after repeatedly getting the rough end of the stick from referees.
Following their 2-2 draw against Leeds, James Maddison suggested that the referees are petrified to make decisions in the age of VAR.