Tottenham wrongly denied penalty in Bournemouth clash as THREE big VAR errors admitted on wretched night
Tottenham were wrongly denied a spot-kick by VAR Michael Oliver in one of three incorrect penalty decisions in the top-flight on Thursday night, the Premier League Match Centre have admitted.
The decision left Jose Mourinho incensed after the dismal 0-0 draw at Bournemouth and the Spurs boss will not have to wait long to renew his feud with Oliver, who is due to take charge of Sunday’s crucial north London derby.
The referee at the Vitality Stadium, Paul Tierney, waved away the visitors’ appeals after an apparent shove on Harry Kane by Josh King in the fifth minute and VAR Oliver upheld the decision after a review.
The Match Centre’s designated official, Dermot Gallagher, afterwards admitted it was the wrong call and also confirmed that Manchester United and Southampton should not have been awarded penalties on another dismal day for the technology.
Both were awarded by the referee and checked by the VAR, with United’s Bruno Fernandes scoring in a 3-0 win at Aston Villa, but James Ward-Prowse missing his spot-kick in Saints’ 1-1 draw at Everton.
Mourinho had already criticised Oliver for disallowing Kane’s equaliser as the VAR in last week’s 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United, saying then: “Unfortunately, Michael Oliver is very important in the game. The referee who is not very good on the pitch, we cannot expect that he’s good in the [VAR] office.”
On Thursday night, he took fresh aim at Oliver, but declined to mention him by name, telling broadcasters: “The same referee that was the VAR against Sheffield United. In the world, everybody knows that is a penalty. And I say everybody. Like Sheffield, the man of the match was not one of the players.”
Mourinho, who walked out of his post-match press conference after a technical issue with Zoom, had previously declined to comment on the selection of Oliver as Sunday’s official.
The Professional Game Match Officials Ltd are understood to be unlikely to make a change at such short notice, despite Mourinho’s growing vendetta.
Oliver correctly disallowed Callum Wilson’s 89th-minute goal for Bournemouth after it struck the arm of King on the way in, while Spurs had Hugo Lloris to thank for a point after he rushed off his line to deny Harry Wilson in stoppage time.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Friday morning defended referees but said there needs to be a “debate” about VAR’s implementation at the end of the season.
Last night was another dismal performance from Spurs, who failed to register a shot on target against a Cherries side who had shipped 12 goals in four matches since the restart and last kept a Premier League clean sheet in mid-December.
By half-time, every single Spurs player, including centre-forward Harry Kane, had spent more time in their own half, prompting Mourinho to introduce Heung-min Son and record signing Tanguy Ndombele.
Left-back Ben Davies admitted Spurs must improve ahead of Arsenal’s visit - with the Gunners a point and a place above them in the table - and said Ndombele can provide a much-needed spark if he is handed a rare start.
“I think it’s fair to say we need to improve,” Davies said. “We worked hard, put a fight in, but lacked a bit of spark. We didn’t create enough chances.
“I think Tanguy can help, I think he did well when he came on. That’s what we have to do in games when it’s a bit flat.”
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