It seems as though referee David Coote and his VAR team may have made a notable error in the Tottenham Hotspur thrashing as he failed to send Dejan Kulusevski off for a poor tackle.
What's the latest on VAR and Spurs?
It really feels as though things couldn't have gone worse for Spurs on Sunday afternoon. After all, coming up against fellow Champions League football challengers, Newcastle United, Cristian Stellini's men were blown away.
Indeed, the Magpies took a 5-0 lead within 21 minutes thanks to braces from Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak, as well as an effort from Joelinton – meaning only one other team in the history of the Premier League had conceded that many goals in fewer minutes (which as Watford vs Man City in 2019 as per OptaJoe).
However, it seems as though things could have actually got considerably more complicated for Spurs after then, had Coote reached for a red when Kulusevski made a bad foul.
With the score at 5-0 and 27 minutes played, the Tottenham winger reached for the ball but ended up nowhere near it as he planted his studs into Joe Willock's groin as seen in the image below.
Should Kulusevski have been red-carded?
Seeing as the Newcastle midfielder heads the ball away, it's quite baffling why Kulusevski studs end up where they are if it was a genuine attempt to make a challenge.
With that in mind, with his studs raised so high, it seems extremely fortunate that referee Coote didn't pull out a red card, nor was he instructed by his VAR team to reconsider his initial decision.
After all, as per the official FA Rules, a player can be sent off for serious foul play when making "a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force."
Or when any player "lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent."
It really feels as though Kulusevski is guilty of breaching those rules with this dreadful tackle but in the end, he was only booked.
Of course, it didn't have a huge impact on the game as Spurs were already beaten by that point. But Harry Kane did pull one back and Newcastle only scored once after, through Callum Wilson to make the final result 6-1.
Had Kulusevski been sent off, though, it could have been an even more humiliating scoreline.
