Ref Watch: Should Tottenham striker Harry Kane have been awarded a penalty against Brentford? | Football News

Dermot Gallagher dissects the big refereeing flashpoints from Boxing Day’s action as the Premier League returned from its mid-season break.

Brentford 2-2 Tottenham

INCIDENT: Harry Kane not given a penalty after tangling with Ben Mee in the Brentford penalty area.

VERDICT: No penalty.

DERMOT SAYS: I thought both Mee and Kane were grabbing at each other. Kane has got a hold of Mee at the back as well so I think it’s one where if a penalty is going to be given, it has to be an on-field decision. VAR aren’t going to overturn it. There needs to be enough doubt and it’s what we’ll see moving forward. VAR will only step in when it is clear and obvious.

STEPHEN WARNOCK SAYS: I think that is a penalty. I think Ben Mee has lost the flight of the ball and he’s lost where Kane is as well. Kane’s got the right to try to push his way past Mee but when you look at the defender’s position with his arms around the waist, I think it tells you that is a penalty.

SUE SMITH SAYS: I was covering this game and I was so surprised that it wasn’t given as a penalty. You may feel that Kane is grappling as well but he’s just trying to get Ben Mee off him, There are two arms around Kane and once you do that as a defender, you’re trying to do anything to put the striker off. I was really surprised this wasn’t given as a penalty.

Crystal Palace 0-3 Fulham

INCIDENT: Crystal Palace’s task became even harder when James Tomkins, booked earlier for a foul on Aleksandar Mitrovic, departed after 57 minutes after being shown a second yellow card when his raised arm made contact with the Serb as he ran past the Palace defender.

VERDICT: Referee left himself with no option.

DERMOT SAYS: The problem here is that the referee has given a foul and once he does that I feel he has to take action due to the move itself. He thinks it’s a foul and a yellow card. As he is already on a yellow, it means it’s a red for two bookings. VAR can only intervene on straight red cards.

Should second yellow cards be reviewed by VAR?

DERMOT SAYS: Had Tomkins been shown a straight red for violent conduct, I do think it would have been overturned by VAR and he would have stayed on the pitch. The PGMOL can’t make the rules no matter who they have in power. The protocol at the moment is that a second yellow card is not permissible.

Whether there will be a shift in years to come, we don’t know. People are just starting to embrace VAR and it’s only just been introduced in Scotland so at the moment, it is where it is. The fact you’ve got a new referees’ officer [Howard Webb], doesn’t alter how the referee is assisted on the field.

In this instance, it was Andrew Madley’s decision and VAR played no part.

“I thought the decision was very harsh. He couldn’t believe it as he didn’t even see the player. I don’t think it was a second yellow card.”

INCIDENT: Tyrick Mitchell mis-controlled a pass from Tomkins and made contact with Kenny Tete’s shin in an attempt to win the ball back. Referee Andy Madley had no hesitation in showing a red card, the decision quickly upheld by VAR.

VERDICT: Correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: If anyone was starting a referee course today, the one thing I would show you is the clip of this sending off. I would tell the person not to pre-judge but to allow things to play out.

But if a player loses the ball because it’s a heavy first touch and his instinct is, ‘I’ve got to get that back quickly’. I don’t think Mitchell meant any harm whatsoever, but this is when the referee has to raise his alertness on what may happen and Mitchell reaches too far.

When it happened at the time, I thought he would be sent off.

Everton 1-2 Wolves

INCIDENT: Max Kilman is high with a boot on Idrissa Gueye during the second half of Everton’s 2-1 home defeat to Wolves. The scoreline was level at the time of the incident at Goodison Park, with referee Craig Pawson brandishing a yellow card. But was Kilman lucky to escape a red?

VERDICT: Correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: I think it’s the right decision. It’s a high boot, it’s reckless but his eyes are always on the ball. The Everton player actually comes into his area of space and I don’t think Kilman knows he’s come in. He catches him high, it’s reckless but it’s certainly not a red card for me.

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham

INCIDENT: Arsenal threatened throughout the first half, dominating with 72 per cent of the possession, but were frustrated as Said Benrahma’s spot-kick was the only goal at the break after William Saliba had fouled Jarrod Bowen inside the box. But was there any contact?

VERDICT: Penalty.

DERMOT SAYS: This is history being re-written in many ways because I think it’s a penalty. I feel Saliba has caught him and it’s knocked him off his stride.

That’s why the ball has run away and it’s ironic as when I was watching it last night there was an incident involving Matt Jarvis many years ago at this very ground when he tried to stay on his feet and the referee didn’t give it. We don’t want to force players to think they have to go to ground, and that is what referee Michael Oliver has done here.