Tottenham Hotspur are only two points ahead of West Ham United in 17th place in the Premier League relegation battle after drawing Leeds United 1-1, failing to capitalize on the Hammers losing 1-0 to Arsenal over the weekend.
Spurs are still in the driver's seat to safety from the EFL Championship, but a two point margin is much worse than four, as Spurs lost their chance to develop real distance and a safety net between themselves and their rivals before a huge game next Tuesday night against Chelsea, who are fighting tooth and nail to stay in European football.
West Ham have a big game of their own this Sunday in the Premier League, as they will do battle with another disappointing side in Newcastle United, who currently sit 13th in the table and are getting closer to falling out of the battle for European places in their own right.
Tottenham fans are crying conspiracy
After Tottenham Hotspur fans felt hard done by notorious Premier League referee Jarred Gillet over the weekend after a series of more controverisal calls that went against the Lilywhites, they were in for another rude awakening on Tuesday morning.
Gillet and Craig Pawson, per Sky Sports, via The Spurs Watch, will officially be the referees in charge of the match between West Ham United and Newcastle United on Sunday, and that has caused huge concern among the Spurs faithful.
Both Pawson and Gillet, especially, have been behind a number of decisions that have gone against Tottenham this season, and with each game that leaves supporters and even manager Roberto De Zerbi befuddled, Spurs fans are worried that in this era of constant betting and headline making, there is a conspiracy or even an implicit bias of people wanting to see Tottenham relegated because of how newsworthy it would be.
With so many calls going against Spurs constantly this season that defy any sort of logic, the disgruntled Tottenham fan base are naturally looking for the only possible logical explanation to hold onto, and this is the one they have settled on.
So with the Pawson and Gillet pairing now officiating West Ham's next game, you can see why Spurs fans are upset. Gillet just made calls that may have cost Tottenham points against Leeds, and now he is going to referee their biggest rivals in the relegation fight in the very next game. If things don't go smoothly on Sunday, Tottenham fans already have their pitchforks sharpened.