Premier League issue statement on why Dele Alli action was left unpunished

Tottenham Hotspur versus Everton will not be remembered for the high standard of football at Goodison yesterday evening, but there were major talking points.

Of course, the horror injury to Andre Gomes and the reaction from Heung Min Son hit the headlines this morning, but another moment featuring Dele Alli also raised some eyebrows.

While Spurs were defending their 1-0 lead in the game, Dele went up to defend a cross against Everton defender Yerry Mina. As the centre-back went for the header, the ball appeared to brush past and strike Alli on his arm, which was raised above his head.

The referee did not spot the incident but it was sent to VAR and the replays confirmed that it did indeed strike the arm of Alli.

However, the decision was not overturned, somewhat surprisingly, and the Premier League have since issued a statement as to why, claiming that Alli was under pressure from Mina.

The Sun report that the statement read: “The VAR considered that both Alli and Mina were challenging for the ball in the air and Alli was under pressure from the attacker as the ball struck his hand.

“In his view, it was not a clear and obvious error.”

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