Tottenham Hotspur’s chances of playing in Europe have diminished considerably after they were well-beaten by Sheffield United on Thursday evening.
It means the Blades leapfrog Spurs into seventh, pushing them seven points adrift of the top five in the Premier League.
The home side bagged against the run of play and never looked back but the game was arguably marred by a moment of controversy.
Seconds after the opener, Harry Kane had the ball in the net, which would have put the tie at all-square but after a VAR review from Michael Oliver, the goal was disallowed because of a handball from Lucas Moura.
It appeared to have hit the Brazilian on the back more than any part of his arm nor did he have much control over his actions as he was bundled to the floor.
The letter of the law says it should be denied, but it was an absolutely shocking decision, summed up by former Spurs striker-turned-pundit Gary Lineker on Twitter.
He said:
The game’s gone.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 2, 2020
And it’s quite hard to disagree.
At half-time, Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp implored the match officials to start using common sense as there really was nothing the £28.8m-rated star could do about it.
It’s a bold claim from Lineker but it’s the right one. Something has to be done, whether that’s a change to the rules or a change to VAR remains to be seen.
That’s not to say the game going to 1-1 would’ve had a major bearing on the result, Spurs were poor all-round, but it certainly would’ve made things a bit more interesting.
Jose Mourinho is going to have to pull something out of the bag to reach Europe.