Tottenham should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday, according to Jermaine Jenas.
Toon captain Jamal Lascelles tripped and brought down Harry Kane midway through the second half, but referee Mike Dean failed to award the spot kick.
But speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Jenas was quick to air his grievances with the decision.
He said: “Wow, it’s not a penalty.
“I don’t think you can get emotional about VAR anymore. The decisions are so random. Looking at the replays, I would have given them a penalty.
“That’s a shocker from VAR.”
OPINION
To be fair, you can see why Jenas is baffled by this decision. It looks for all the world as if Lascelles has lost his footing and obstructed Kane from a clear goalscoring opportunity. It looked stonewall, and as soon as it went to VAR, there can’t have been a Newcastle fan watching who wasn’t holding their breath. The only reason that you can imagine it wasn’t given was perhaps because just as Lascelles begins to go down, Kane appears to take a slight step in his direction, almost as if to make the most of the contact. It’s a very minimal movement, but it was clearly enough to convince the video ref that he was trying to dupe Dean. It still seems harsh, not that Newcastle will care. This is a result that they desperately needed after a dire start to the season, and while this result shouldn’t admonish everything that has come before, but it will buy Bruce some time.
