Dejan Kulusevski has insisted that he was clipped in the lead-up to Arsenal’s second goal and admitted that he does not understand why Micky van de Ven’s goal was chopped off for offside.
While Tottenham fans were extremely unhappy with the way the Lilywhites rolled over for the Gunners in the first half by conceding some poor goals, a lot of them are also fuming about some of the decisions that went against their side.
There has been a lot of talk about whether Spurs should have had a penalty in the lead-up to Arsenal’s second goal when Kulusevski appeared to be clipped in the box just as he was about to run onto the ball.
Referee Michael Oliver did not see it as being worthy of a penalty and VAR did not intervene after reviewing the incident.
Dejan Kulusevski reacts to penalty incident vs Arsenal
When asked if he felt he should have been handed a penalty, Kulusevski told Football.London: “I don’t remember. I just play. If I fall down there’s a reason why I did it. I don’t remember if it was or not.”
Some supporters were also bemused by VAR’s decision to chalk off Micky van de Ven’s equaliser for offside since Pedro Porro’s initial shot had come off two Arsenal players before it came to the Dutchman’s path.
MORE SPURS STORIES
When asked about the offside call, Kulusevski said: “I really don’t understand the rules in those situations. I can’t believe it. I was there. It touched two Arsenal players and it is still offside. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t know the rules. It was strange. It changes everything from 1-1 to 1-0.”
When asked whether it’s difficult to celebrate goals nowadays, given the VAR checks that follow, the 24-year-old responded: “I don’t think on that. We score, we score. Of course, from the first day they brought it in I was not a fan. They chose the rules. I don’t decide. I think it’s not as fun for anybody, the fans, the players, but that is a completely different discussion.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I think anyone who is confused by the offside decision should read up on the law in question and what ‘deliberate play’ means in this context. People can perhaps feel that the law must be changed but there is no doubt that by the letter of the law as it stands, Van de Ven was offside.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
