WeAreTottenhamTV host Simeon Daniel believes Michail Antonio should have been sent off during Tottenham’s last Premier League game before the international break.
Spurs went into the domestic hiatus with an important victory over West Ham United. A Kurt Zouma own goal and two Son Heung-min strikes secured the three points, which moved Spurs into fifth place. The encounter was a fiery one, with Sergio Reguilon avoiding dismissal after slapping Aaron Cresswell across the face and Antonio also staying on the pitch despite elbowing Eric Dier.
Should Antonio have been sent off?
Yes
No
£10.8m-valued Antonio has revealed he was ‘shocked’ Reguilon was let off the hook, which appears to have riled Daniel. He believes the West Ham forward’s challenge was far more dangerous than Reguilon’s slap, as he explained on the latest WeAreTottenhamTV show.
“I couldn’t believe it didn’t go to VAR,” said Daniel. “I saw Eric Dier running to the referee saying ‘he just elbowed me in the face’; he did nothing. It was so cynical as well. I’m still shocked to this day that nothing ever happened with that. You know, the Reguilon slap, it was a little bit of a tap.
“It was one of those where, like, technically you’re not allowed to hit someone in the face, fair enough. But he didn’t actually hurt anyone, let’s be honest. Yeah, he shouldn’t be putting anyone’s hands in anyone’s faces, 100% I agree with that. But let’s be honest, what Antonio did was 100 times worse than what Reguilon did. So I think he just needs to be quiet and just [feel] lucky he didn’t get sent off.”
TIF Thoughts on Antonio’s and Reguilon’s misdemeanours…
There is certainly some club bias at play here. Although Reguilon did not put Aaron Cresswell in any serious danger when he touched his face, it has become clear in the Premier League that you cannot raise your hands to someone’s face and get away with it. The Spaniard is lucky not to have been given his marching orders and should avoid putting himself in such a position again in the future.
Having said that, it is hard not to agree with Daniel’s assessment of Antonio’s near-assault of Dier. Reckless is just one of the words that come to mind, especially given the Spurs defender was sporting a headband after a nasty clash with Brighton’s Neal Maupay the week before.
Once again, however, all of this brings into question the influence of VAR. Here are two incidents that, by the letter of the law, should have been penalised, and yet Stockley Park seems to have missed both.
There is a place for further technology in football, as Hawkeye has proven, but the issue with VAR is the same as with referees – it all comes down to one person’s opinion. In this case, it is just the referee’s judgement against someone sitting in a room in west London. Unfortunately, it does not look like VAR’s involvement will be revised any time soon.