Retired Irish referee Dermott Gallagher believes that Tottenham Hotspur should not have been awarded a penalty against Arsenal in the London Derby on Saturday.
Shkodran Mustafi was adjudged to have pushed Harry Kane inside the area when Spurs won a free kick just outside the box. The German defender pushed Kane when the English international was challenging for the in-coming aerial ball and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot to award the penalty. Kane took it to peg Arsenal back to a 1-1 draw and the match eventually ended with that score.
“What I would say first of all is that’s a great spot from the referee for the penalty. It was definitely a foul. I think the problem occurs at the outset because the assistant isn’t in the right start position, and he’s always playing catch-up then. He doesn’t see that Kane challenges for the ball, and because he doesn’t see that, he doesn’t flag offside. But the minute Kane challenges for the ball, he becomes active and involved in the play, and therefore offside should’ve been given.” Gallagher explained.
The draw prevented Arsenal from bridging the gap to just one point against Spurs on the log.