Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 at Liverpool on Sunday evening.
Loris Karius of Liverpool fouls Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur
Former Premier League referee Graham Poll has told the Daily Mail that he feels the controversial decisions in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday were ultimately correct, praising referee Jon Moss.
Spurs travelled to Anfield on Sunday in search of a vital three points, but got off to the worst possible start as Eric Dier’s loose backpass allowed Mohamed Salah to score, before Victor Wanyama equalised with a long-range thunderbolt.
Drama ensued late on, as Harry Kane had a penalty saved after being brought down by goalkeeper Loris Karius, Salah put Liverpool in front in added time and Kane rescued a point after atoning for his error, scoring from the spot after Virgil van Dijk fouled Erik Lamela.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Erik Lamela (L) goes down from a tackle by Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk
Spurs will take a point from their trip to Merseyside, though their draw has been shrouded in controversy over the award of their two late penalties in front of the Kop.
For the first, Kane was stood offside but was ruled onside due to a touch from Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren, which many felt he dived as he went past Karius before seeing his spot kick saved anyway.
Lamela’s fall for the second penalty was certainly dramatic, and Liverpool felt somewhat hard done by as the Argentinian was accidentally clipped by Van Dijk, allowing Kane to rescue a point.
Now, ex-Premier League referee Graham Poll has told the Daily Mail that he feels linesman Eddie Smart and referee Jon Moss did a great job at Anfield, suggesting that their calls for the two penalties were spot on despite the ensuing fallout.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli (2L) is booked for a dive
However, Poll added his concern for Spurs midfielder Dele Alli, who was again booked for diving, suggesting that he could be a liability for England at the World Cup in Russia this summer.
“Well done Eddie Smart. The assistant got involved in both penalty decisions and he was right to do so,” said Poll. “For the first penalty, he called for Jon Moss because Harry Kane was in an offside position and Smart could not be clear whether a Liverpool player had touched the ball before the Tottenham striker was fouled. They discussed the situation and Moss decided that Dejan Lovren had played the ball, which meant Kane was onside before being taken down by Loris Karius.”
“And then Smart persuaded the referee, deep into stoppage time, to award the second penalty to Spurs. To the naked eye it looked as if Erik Lamela had dived. People who had seen it numerous times on TV replays could not be sure, but Smart was. And he was right. It was unintentional from Virgil van Dijk but it was a swing of his leg and it was clumsy. And, yes, it was a penalty. It topped a good afternoon for the officials. Moss was very good. He allowed strong tackles and punished dangerous tackles. His officiating added to the occasion.”
“And he was right to book Dele Alli, who worries me, because we are in a World Cup year and he is getting booked for poor tackles and now this is the third time he has been shown a yellow card for simulation. Indeed, Alli has been booked for diving three times since his Premier League debut in 2015 — no player has received more. He is a very gifted footballer but he is not on top of his game and his actions suggest he could be a liability for England,” he added.
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