Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has suggested that Fernando Llorente’s crucial goal for Tottenham against Manchester City last night should not have stood.
Replays suggest that the ball brushed off the Spaniard’s arm before striking his waist and going into the net, but after a VAR review, the goal was allowed to stand.
Speaking to the Sun, Halsey suggested that it should not have been given, but that the referee was not to blame for the error.
He said: “If Cakir [the referee] gets to see that replay then the goal is disallowed. Llorente leads with his arm and makes a movement towards the ball.
“So you could argue that is deliberate. But this camera angle was not shown by broadcasters to the officials – and I have no idea why it wasn’t.
“You clearly saw Cakir saying the ball hit Llorente’s hip after he watched replays on the pitch-side monitor. Why were all the camera angles not afforded to the match officials? That was a massive, massive call but on the evidence Cakir was afforded, you cannot criticise him for awarding the goal.”
OPINION
This was such a tight decision, and one that ended up having huge, huge repercussions for the tie. First and foremost, you probably cannot deny that the ball does come into contact with Llorente’s arm. It’s the slightest touch, but it’s there. The next question is, therefore, was it deliberate, and honestly, who knows? If he does make a movement towards the ball, it is minuscule, but in the context of football, if the ball ends up in the back of the net as a result, direct or otherwise, of it striking a forward’s hand, surely that is grounds to rule it out? Thirdly, and most importantly, the referee cannot see any of this. Watching the match last night you could see the angle the official was being shown, and it was inconclusive to say the very least. Even after checking over it for what seemed like an age, you could tell that he didn’t have a clue whether it struck his arm or not, and he had to give the goal because of that. Halsey is absolutely right to ask why he wasn’t shown the one angle that would have probably cleared things up in a heartbeat.