Tottenham Hotspur played out a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the north London derby at the weekend.
Arsenal were handed a penalty in the second half which allowed them to score their second goal of the game.
Tottenham defender Cristian Romero gave away the spot kick after blocking a shot in his own penalty area with his hand.
Reacting to the incident, former referee Dermot Gallagher claimed that it was the right decision to penalise the South American defender.
The ball was hit at the Tottenham defender from point-blank range and VAR decided to award a controversial penalty. The decision was widely criticised and Gallagher’s claims certainly infuriated journalist Jay Motty.
When asked why Arsenal got a pen when United didn’t for practically the same handball vs Spurs, Dermot Gallagher cannot explain it so doesn’t even bother trying to. Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/pRpWw5Bb54
— Jay Motty (@JayMotty) September 25, 2023
Earlier this season, Romero was involved in a similar incident where he blocked an effort from Alejandro Garnacho during Tottenham’s clash against Manchester United and the penalty appeal was turned down at the time.
Back then, Gallagher claimed that the decision not to penalise the Tottenham defender was correct because he was too close to the shot and he could not have avoided contact.
He said after the game: “I would say 100 per cent no, the feeling is he was so close.”
His contradictive claims have certainly not gone down well and Gallagher’s recent comments have been labelled as pathetic.
Either way, Romero will be disappointed to have contributed to both goals in the north London derby. The Argentine is certainly one of the better central defenders in the league and he will look to bounce back strongly in the coming months.
