Alan Shearer shared that he thought there was no way Tottenham should have been handed a penalty after the ball struck Kyle Walker’s arm in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City.
The BBC pundit delivered a definitive verdict of whether Spurs were wrongly denied a penalty for handball in Saturday’s game, and shared there was no way it was a spot-kick as he suggested it was too difficult for Walker to get out the way.
Dele Alli noticeably appealed the decision that occurred in the 59th minute but referee Michael Oliver waved away his appeals.
“I don’t think the one where it hit Kyle Walker’s hand was a penalty at all, I mean the proximity to where he was,” said Shearer on BBC Radio 5 Live (17:12, Saturday April 20th).
“What was he half a yard away? At the pace it was going, there was no way I thought that was a penalty.”
OPINION
Shearer couldn’t make his opinion anymore clear on the incident in Spurs’ loss to Man City and it’s hard not to agree with him. While some referees may have pointed to the spot once the ball struck Walker’s arm, it’s hard to see how the Man City defender was meant to get out the way. The ball hit Walker’s arm after ricocheting off Alli’s chest and it came at him at a ridiculously fast pace. While some Spurs fans will highlight similar incidents that led to penalties being awarded, it’s more an example that those decisions were harsh rather than anything else. With VAR set to be introduced to the Premier League next season, you feel debates about these sort of incidents should be reduced. However based on how VAR has been used at the times in the Champions League this season, perhaps there should be concerns that everything is only going to get more confusing.