Aston Villa fans have taken to Twitter in disbelief after Hugo Lloris wiped out Ollie Watkins inside the penalty area yesterday.
The Tottenham glovesman slid in and took Watkins off his feet in the 12th minute of Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Spurs.
However, Craig Pawson – nor Kevin Friend on VAR duty – saw anything wrong with the Frenchman’s actions, which is pretty baffling.
Yes, the ball was heading out of play. However, it was still in play when Lloris clattered into Watkins, in what was a blatant foul.
Harry Kane was awarded a penalty at Villa Park back in March for a similar offence.
The ball was heading out of bounds when Matty Cash fouled the England international, but Tottenham still won the spot-kick.
Fortunately, Dean Smith’s side managed to secure all three points anyway thanks to an own goal from Sergio Reguilon and a strike by Watkins.
However, the 12th minute moment was still truly baffling.
One Aston Villa fan below wrote that they felt the decision was a ‘ridiculous’ one.
Another described it as a ‘pathetic’ call from Pawson – it truly was.
Aston Villa fans were already a bit worried before the game when they saw that Friend would be on VAR duty, given his past experiences officiating their games.
After this moment, their dislike of him will have only increased.
Let’s see what the Aston Villa fans on Twitter have been saying about the bizarre incident…
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
