Spurs boss Thomas Frank has called out the VAR for an "absolute mistake" in awarding a penalty to Newcastle in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham. The Magpies were given a spot-kick in the 86th minute, with the score at 1-1, after referee Thomas Bramall spotted Rodrigo Bentancur holding Newcastle defender Dan Burn in the box as they clashed in a corner. However, Spurs midfielder Cristian Romero scored an injury-time overhead kick to level the score and secure a point for Frank's side.
Frank, who was unhappy with the decision, believes that VAR should only intervene if it is clear and obvious, rather than reviewing borderline incidents. He also expressed his frustration at the lack of consistency in refereeing decisions during corners, suggesting that players from both teams did not think it was a penalty at the time.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had given his backing to the referee's call, stating that the defender was not looking at the ball when he made contact with Bentancur. However, the VAR review showed that the incident would have been flagged as a foul if the player had looked up and seen the ball, which further supports Frank's argument that the decision was wrong.
Frank, who was unhappy with the decision, believes that VAR should only intervene if it is clear and obvious, rather than reviewing borderline incidents. He also expressed his frustration at the lack of consistency in refereeing decisions during corners, suggesting that players from both teams did not think it was a penalty at the time.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had given his backing to the referee's call, stating that the defender was not looking at the ball when he made contact with Bentancur. However, the VAR review showed that the incident would have been flagged as a foul if the player had looked up and seen the ball, which further supports Frank's argument that the decision was wrong.
. I mean, come on! If it's not clear and obvious, shouldn't we be leaving it to the refs? It feels like they're trying to second-guess themselves all the time. And corners are already super tricky to call - can't we just let the players play out their moves without overthinking every little thing? 
I get that safety is key, but at what cost to the game's flow and excitement? 
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! I'm totally with Tom Frank on this VAR business - you can't just review everything 
if the players aren't even sure if it's a foul then why should the refs be? 
and can we talk about consistency in refereeing decisions during corners tho? 
I mean I get that sometimes you're gonna have a bad game or day, but this is just ridiculous... Newcastle thought it was a foul at the time and so did Spurs players, it's just one of those weird calls 
. If it's not clear and obvious, why do they have to interfere? It's like they're creating more drama than needed 
. And corners are such a grey area already, I don't see why they need to review them so closely 
. And what's with these "borderline incidents" anyway? Can't they just make a clear call? I remember when football was more about instinct and less about all these fancy VAR reviews 
. Frank's got a point, though - consistency is key, especially in corners. It's frustrating for the fans who get let down by decisions like this 
. And can we please just get some clarification on what "clear and obvious" even means? 