Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has exclusively told TBR Football why the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene after Tottenham’s Cristian Romero saw a goal disallowed against West Ham.
Spurs dominated their Premier League clash at West Ham, running out 3-0 winners after Tomas Soucek’s rash red card in the second half.
In a goalless first half, Spurs were on top but couldn’t find an opener. They thought they had scored when Cristian Romero powered home a header from a corner, but referee Jarred Gillett had spotted a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters.
Replays showed the contact from Micky Van de Ven was minimal, but the VAR backed up the referee and West Ham were awarded a free kick.
Exclusive: Mark Clattenburg feels disallowed Tottenham goal vs West Ham was ‘soft’
Speaking to TBR Football, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg explained why the VAR officials did not advise Jarred Gillett to review his decision to rule out Cristian Romero’s goal.
Clattenburg said: “It’s a soft call but once the referee awards the foul, the VAR has enough evidence to support the on-field decision.”
Sky Sports commentary pointed to a directive given to VAR officials to only intervene if there is significant evidence that an error has been made, calling it the ‘referee’s call’.
Clattenburg’s analysis supports that idea, as he said there was enough evidence that Van de Ven made contact with Walker-Peters.
James Maddison fumes at VAR for ruling out Cristian Romero goal
Injured Tottenham forward James Maddison took to social media to criticise the officials for not allowing Cristian Romero’s goal to stand on Saturday.
Maddison, who will miss most of the season through injury, took to Twitter to post: “Honestly the referees & VAR have had an absolute shocker of a start to the season.
“If that goal is disallowed for a foul you will never ever see a corner be taken without referee blowing for something ever again.”
The game also saw Soucek sent off for a high challenge, although both Thomas Frank and Graham Potter agreed post-match that there was no malice in the sliding tackle.