Former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher has said that Tottenham Hotspur should have been awarded a penalty in the second half against Newcastle for Matt Ritchie’s handball.
Spurs were 3-1 up and in full control of the game when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg whipped in a cross into the box in the 79th minute.
The ball struck Ritchie’s hand but despite a VAR check, a penalty was not awarded to the Lilywhites.
In the end, the decision did not prove consequential, with Tottenham emerging 3-2 winners at St James Park.
Analysing the incident for Sky Sports, Gallagher admitted that Newcastle were ‘very lucky’ to not have a penalty given against them and Steve Bruce’s men could not have argued if it had been adjudged to be handball.
However, former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock disagreed with Gallagher, insisting that Ritchie only had his arms raised as he was trying to turn.
Watch the full discussion below:
Spurs Web Opinion
I am a little sympathetic to Warnock’s point about the arms naturally being raised when players are looking to turn. That is why handball/penalty decisions often cause such disagreement as there is always an element of subjectivity with most of them.
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