Over the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur returned to the pitch for their matchup against Liverpool. After a coronavirus outbreak, the north London club postponed their last three matches, including forfeiting their UEFA Conference League match against Stade Rennais.
During the match, though, there was some controversy. Harry Kane received a yellow card for his tackle on Andy Robertson at the 20th-minute mark. However, there was an outcry for the Spurs captain to be handed a red card.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live (via Mirror), where he stated that the Liverpool defender is lucky to be walking following the tackle by Kane.
“I think Kane’s tackle’s worse than Robertson’s,” Clattenburg said. “To hear that Robertson has to have his leg planted alarms me because if he does that he’s not walking this Christmas. If you don’t believe this is a clear and obvious error about Kane, you’re not doing your job correctly.
“I think we, as referees, are sometimes guilty of knowing the laws of the game, but we don’t understand the game. VAR cannot get this wrong. Referees can because they have a split second. VAR have all the angles; he’s got all the slow-motion, he can see the point of contact.”
Furthermore, Clattenburg stated that the Premier League should release the audio to VAR decisions considering it provides the public with the reason for their decision and limits speculation as to why the referee made the call.
“In Greece, we release the audio of VAR decisions,” Clattenburg said. “People appreciate it. They might not always agree with it, but they appreciate it. I think that should happen. We should be able to listen to the audio. We might not agree with it, but at least then we would understand.”
Following the match, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp stated that Kane should’ve received a red card for his challenge on Robertson.
“Yes, definitely,” Klopp said. “You can give Robbo a red card. It is not the smartest challenge, but that is definitely a red card. No doubt about it. His leg was in the air; it was pure coincidence. Harry cannot judge it. If Robbo’s leg is on the ground, it is a broken leg.”
Maybe Clattenburg should, and no didrespect to him, have some empathy for is former mates. While I think the tackle was bad and the ref was behind the play, in my humble opinion, he could and should and if the that is not the way the team works should consult with the side assistant and ask what do you see long before VAR is introduce since the assistant would have a very good view of the tackle. Use the Ref assistance more, there are not there to call offsides and ball out of bound. Offsides are taken away from them so utilize their eyes to help the man in the middle.
Maybe he should asking why VAR did not interview. Same with the Robertson tackle. Give the on field official as in the NFL to present what they see. They are all wearing headsets and mics. Use that portion of the technology to reduce VAR involvement. Then VAR can chime in and direct the Ref to take a look if there are doubts between the on field crew. I VAR and the less they are involve the better the game, played by humans should be judged by humans with a few exceptions.
For years Liverpool have had players making “commited” tackles on opposing players which would be red card fouls by other teams with out any media comments