Tottenham’s North London derby clash against Arsenal on Sunday ended in a bitter 3-2 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leaving the Spurs camp incensed by controversial refereeing decisions.
Arsenal scored thrice in the first half, two of those goals coming against the run of play. Despite a valiant second-half fightback that saw goals from Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son, Spurs ultimately ran out of time to complete the comeback.
However, frustrations boiled over for Tottenham as they felt aggrieved by several contentious refereeing decisions.
The first half saw a penalty appeal and a disallowed goal leave the Spurs camp frustrated. Matters escalated when referee Michael Oliver chose not to award a penalty despite an apparent foul on Ben Davies by Declan Rice, sparking uproar among Tottenham players.
This left Tottenham players fuming and Cristian Romero who is known for his hot temper could be seen almost jumping at the referee.
Watch Romero’s reaction below:
Romero’s reaction to Michael Oliver’s baffling decision yesterday was all of us #thfc fans! 🤬
🎥 @JonnyH3232 pic.twitter.com/jMXL3Qenom
— Spurs Army (@SpursArmyTweets) April 29, 2024
Ultimately, he was forced to reverse the decision, with the VAR asking him to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
At this point, one has to wonder whether the standard of officiating is so poor or is it blatant corruption.