Tottenham Hotspur head coach Igor Tudor has accused Raul Jimenez of “cheating” in the buildup to Fulham’s opening goal and described the decision to award it as “ridiculous” as Spurs lost 2-1 at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Fulham went ahead in the seventh minute through Harry Wilson, who converted an Oscar Bobb cross from close range. Seconds before, Fulham striker Jimenez appeared to push Spurs defender Radu Dragusin with two hands in the box as they contested an aerial duel. The decision was checked by VAR Craig Pawson, who opted not to reverse the on-field judgment by referee Thomas Bramall.
“The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact by Jimenez on Dragușin did not meet the threshold for a foul,” a statement from the Premier League’s matchday centre read.
“It’s so obvious,” Tudor said in his post-match press conference after he was asked about his opinion on the incident. “Sometimes they don’t understand enough that even small contact gives you an advantage to score the goal. You need to cancel this. It’s not about normal duel when it’s soft or not, when it’s a push, with hands. It’s just easy to get an advantage. It’s ridiculous to not give the foul because the consequence is too big. It’s not a small foul in the middle of the pitch, it’s a goal. There is logic in that.
“With the referees, it’s a beautiful thing to play here — let’s play strong, duels. Fantastic. I like it. But there is logic. The goal is because he (Jimenez) takes advantage, not thinking about football. He was not thinking about the ball. He was thinking how to cheat. So he cheated, the player pushing, and they scored the goal. It’s logic. It’s cheating and a foul.”
Tottenham were on the wrong side of a similar decision last week, with referee Peter Bankes judging Randal Kolo Muani to have pushed defender Gabriel shortly before scoring what would have been an equalising goal to make it 2-2 in the eventual 4-1 defeat to Arsenal. The VAR checked the decision, but opted to stick with Bankes’ on-field judgment.
Tudor was incensed on the sidelines after the decision at Craven Cottage, and his frustration continued into the press conference. Tottenham are yet to win a Premier League game in 2026 — drawing four and losing six of their last ten.
“It’s complicated, the situation,” Tudor said. “Lots of problems. I cannot tell you nothing new. We need to find forces inside each of us. I said to the players, ‘It’s always what you want to do with yourself’. More personality. More wish to do. We lack when we attack. We lack quality to score. We lack in the middle to run. We lack behind to stay and suffer and not concede.”
After going 2-0 down in the first half, Tottenham had a late second-half flurry inspired by Richarlison, who scored his first goal since suffering a hamstring injury in January.
Tottenham return to action on Thursday, hosting Crystal Palace, the last team Spurs beat in the Premier League.