Tottenham Hotspur’s frustrations with Premier League officiating reached new levels after the defeat to Chelsea, and fresh developments surrounding Djed Spence have only added to the anger among sections of the Spurs fanbase ahead of the season finale against Everton.
Tottenham Hotspur have every right to feel they are being officiated differently in the Premier League this season.
Not only have they not been awarded a single penalty in the 37 matches played this campaign, but several fifty-fifty calls have also gone against them.
In the game against Chelsea last time out, calls for a penalty were waved away by both the on-field referee and VAR, with their verdict being that the ball was not in play when Marc Cucurella wrestled Micky van de Ven in what appeared to be a clear foul.
Fan footage, though, has since shown that the ball was indeed in play at the time of the incident, only adding to the Lilywhites’ frustration.
Tottenham fans react to Djed Spence injury after Chelsea challenge
That was not the only decision that went against the Spurs in that match. Liam Delap, towards the closing stages of the game, made no attempt to play the ball and caught Djed Spence with an elbow when he was running through on goal, an incident many felt amounted to serious foul play, but only resulted in a yellow card.
Spurs Web has since relayed the comments of a former Premier League referee, who stated that the on-field decision involving Delap was incorrect. The result of that challenge has now left Spence with a broken jaw, although he will still be fit enough to feature against Everton.
Tottenham fans have now reacted to the latest news, and their frustration was laid bare. One fan said: “Ref did not even want to give a foul for it either lol.”
One more added, calling on Tottenham to speak up: “At this point, the club not speaking up amounts to being complicit. That gooner Vinai is trying to send us down.”
A third supporter called for legal action: “This is disgusting…. The @SpursOfficial board must go after the @FA_PGMOL in court over the officiating.”
One other fan demanded an explanation before suggesting bias: “@FA_PGMOL care to explain? I am sure Romero would be suspended for six games if he did the same…”
Another fan added, while calling for players to be protected: “@FA_PGMOL @SpursOfficial You should both hang your heads in shame for similar reasons. Neither of you are protecting these players. Romero out for the season because of a bad tackle, now Spence has a broken jaw. These players are going to die on the pitch if you let this continue.”
Another took aim at the club: “@SpursOfficial once again you are spineless cowards for not calling out these refs. Ange was right when he challenged these cowards for not standing up for the club.”
Spurs must focus on Everton despite officiating frustration
The fans are not the only ones to have reacted to that decision, with Djed Spence following suit after the Chelsea game.
Spence took to X, posting slowed-down footage of the challenge alongside a caption filled with laughing emojis, seemingly expressing his disbelief at the decision.
In recent weeks, James Maddison has also spoken out against the officiating involving Tottenham. He labelled referees “petrified”, claiming they are scared to make decisions because of VAR.
Given how unlucky Spurs have been with officiating, they simply must do their bit on the pitch against Everton and not rely on any fortune from the referees.
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