The Premier League have been forced into releasing a statement explaining why Anthony Gordon’s Newcastle United equaliser was allowed to stand against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Magpies trailed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Dominic Solanke’s header had given the hosts the lead after just three minutes. However, the Toon equalised through Gordon just four minutes later much to the annoyance of the home crowd and Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou.
Lucas Bergvall’s pass appeared to hit the hand of Newcastle midfielder Joelinton, before falling into the path of Bruno Guimaraes. The latter would roll the ball out wide to Gordon who made no mistake in finding the back of the net from the edge of the area, past the inexperienced Brandon Austin in the Spurs goal..
VAR did check the incident after referee Andy Madley had awarded the goal, but came to the conclusion Joelinton’s handball was accidental. The Brazilian’s hands were down by his side when the ball struck, with officials deeming the contact to be accidental and his arms in a natural position.
The Premier League Match Centre tweeted: “The referee’s call of goal was confirmed by VAR, who checked for a potential handball by Joelinton in the build-up and deemed that his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental.”
Eddie Howe’s side are looking to close the gap to Chelsea in fourth and could move lever on points with Enzo Maresca’s side with a win against Spurs. The Blues have a superior goal difference heading into today’s game and take on Crystal Palace in a 3 o’clock kick-off at Selhurst Park.
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