Report: Tottenham refused to let Portsmouth play Dane Scarlett last week

Tottenham refused to grant permission for Portsmouth to play Dane Scarlett last week in the club’s FA Cup first-round match against Hereford (Football London).

Fortunately, Pompey came through the game with a 3-1 win to reach the second round, but they had to do so without one of their most talented forward players.

Dane Scarlett
ANP Sport via Getty Images

Scarlett already has four goals and two assists this season across all competitions, not a bad start to the 18-year-old’s first-ever loan spell away from Tottenham (TransferMarkt).

However, the teenager was unavailable for the match against Hereford, with Football London’s Alasdair Gold suggesting some thought it may have something to do with him becoming cup-tied.

If Scarlett was needed to return to Tottenham after the World Cup in January, he would be unable to play in the FA Cup third round if he had already featured for Portsmouth in the earlier rounds.

Despite this, Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has seemingly refuted that idea by revealing Spurs will allow Scarlett to play in the second round against MK Dons in November.

He said (BBC Radio Solent:) “Tottenham have said to us that they will allow him to play in the next round if we got through.

“That’s the communication we’ve had with them and we’re hopeful that we might have him for the next one. It’s absolutely the prerogative of the parent club to make that decision so we totally respect that.”

Spurs Web Opinion:

It does sound very much like it was a failsafe to ensure he did not get cup-tied for the sake of a first-round match. But perhaps Spurs are willing to be more lenient now that Portsmouth are through to a more meaningful round, and the likes of Kulusevski and Richarlison are back from injury.

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