In the match between Tottenham and Brighton on Saturday, Son Heung-min scored his 100th goal in the Premier League and Harry Kane made it the winning one – this was very exciting! However, away from all the ball excitement there was some drama involving the Video Assitant Referee (VAR) which left Lewis Dunk, captain of Brighton perplexed. He asked “What’s the point of it?”.
SportNewsCenter analyst Chris Sutton uttered that Brighton had been “cheated”, while both Tottenham’s caretaker boss Christian Stellini and the Seagulls’ director Roberto de Zerbi tried to downplay their fanning battle from the touchlines.
All in all, it was full of activity, debates, and a fierce match held at north London…
– Despite luck favoring them, Tottenham won against Brighton.
– Son managed to reach 100 Premier League goals with exciting plays yet clinical shots.
“De Zerbi and Stellini Rekindle Old Rivalry
Before the match even began, two Italian managers were arguing with each other on the football field. After shaking hands, they were in a fierce disagreement; De Zerbi was pointing his finger angrily at the other manager.
De Zerbi and Stellini had gone head-to-head during their time playing for Italy before. Stellini said in his press conference that De Zerbi was a very aggressive player and he often challenged him back then.
The Spurs’ interim boss had something to say about their new coach, De Zerbi. He said De Zerbi wasn’t as good tactically as Graham Potter, who used to be the Brighton coach. He also said that De Zerbi found a way to use his own tactics with the team Potter left them. Even though he didn’t seem happy with his earlier comments, he referred to De Zerbi as a “great manager”.
The game started with a lot of fighting, and it was just as tense until the managers got in trouble during the second half. After Brighton scored again, but it didn’t count because the referee said they used their hand, people from both teams got into an argument. It seemed like Stellini (the manager) wasn’t part of it at first, but he still got sent away.
“Getting a Red Card
After the incident, both men tried not to discuss it further. But De Zerbi commented, “I always show respect to people and I expect the same in return”. Stellini mentioned that he was usually a calm person who loves to focus on the game, and he isn’t happy when things become too hostile.
De Zerbi got a red card, which is like a warning that you need to stop doing the wrong thing. It was his second red card of the season, and he received this one in February when he was playing against Fulham.
Disallowed Goals
Albion had 17 shots towards the goal, while Tottenham only had 9. They even managed to put the ball into the net 3 times, but unfortunately two of them were not counted due to handball.
Dunk said that Albion dominated the game, yet Tottenham was still able to score two goals despite creating fewer chances.
Kaoru Mitoma tried scoring by controlling a high pass with his upper arm then volleying it in during the first half, however the assistant referee didn’t allow it as it violated handball rules.
Dunk said that he thought the ball had hit Mitoma around his chest and not too high up on the arm, which was what Brighton was protesting. After a long time evaluating with VAR (video referee), the decision still stood. Pascal Gross was leading Brighton’s complaints against the call. The second handball situation was even more clear. Danny Welbeck shoot from close range and it bounced off Alexis Mac Allister before hitting Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Initially, Brighton were given a goal but afterwards, video replays showed that Mac Allister’s arm touched the ball, so VAR disallowed the goal. As per the rules of football, if the ball touches a player’s arm and goes into the opponent’s goal, then it should be disallowed – even if it happens by accident.
“Unfortunate Incident for Brighton During their Match
Before the match ended, there was a debate over a penalty given to Mitoma. The Spurs midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojberg, stepped on the Japan international’s foot and caused him to fall down. According to SportNewsCenter’s Match of the Day commentator Steve Wilson, Hojberg clearly got in Mitoma’s way so he believes a penalty should have been given.
The referee, Stuart Attwell, didn’t agree with the appeals and he wasn’t asked to go back on his initial decision or take another look. Dunk was frustrated and said that VAR is here for big decisions but it’s not being used that way. De Zerbi stayed neutral in the situation.
The speaker said that there have been a lot of unfavorable situations for the referees, but former Chelsea striker Sutton believes that it was “horrendous”. He said Brighton got robbed because there were at least two unfair calls made against Mitomo by the referees. The chief and head referee, Howard Webb will most likely apologize to them over what had happened once again – which Sutton called ‘truly awful’.
It was a really disappointing day for the Seagulls, since they weren’t able to get three important points that would help them qualify for European football. With the Sport News Center app, you can keep up with your favourite Premier League team’s happenings more than ever before. You can even get notifications so you won’t miss any updates!
