Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has weighed in on the incident involving Tottenham striker Harry Kane in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Saturday.
Spurs were awarded a penalty in the second half after the Gunners went 1-0 up after Kane was barged into when trying to get on the end of a ball delivered by teammate Christian Eriksen.
Clattenburg is in agreement with the game’s referee Anthony Taylor for giving Tottenham the decision, saying that the forward did not commit an offside offence until he plays the ball.
“The penalty was correct. Although Harry Kane was in an offside position when Christian Eriksen delivers the ball, he is not deemed to have committed an offside offence until he plays the ball or attempts to play the ball,” he said in his Mail column.
“From the replays, you can clearly see the barge happens before Kane is in the process of challenging for the ball.”
OPINION
There was a lot of debate after Saturday’s match over whether Tottenham should have been awarded the penalty, with many thinking that Kane being offside should have not resulted in the decision. However, like Clattenburg pointed out, he did not commit an offside offence until the ball is played or the ball is attempted to be played – which is why the penalty stood. Many Arsenal fans were no doubt bitter about this decision as it may have meant that they would have come away with all three points, but the fact it has been clarified may wade their frustration a bit. The barge on Kane did not happen until he plays the ball, so it is clear that the correct decision was made and it was not one that had a major influence on the game. There is always going to be debate over such decisions in a game as hyped up as the North London derby – especially when every point counts in such a tight race for the Premier League top four.