Antonio Conte bashes penalty decision in Tottenham Hotspur’s draw vs Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte was enraged with referee Simon Hooper’s decision to award Southampton a late penalty kick in his team’s 3-3 Premier League draw on Saturday.
Pape Matar Sarr was attempting a clearance where he seemed to have missed the ball and caught Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the process. On first viewing, it didn’t look like a penalty.
For Spurs fans and perhaps maybe even for some neutrals, it didn’t on second, third and fourth viewing either. The Senegal international only had eyes for the ball.
Maitland-Niles entered the fray from nowhere and in all honesty, wouldn’t have done anything visibly noteworthy attack-wise had he won the apparent 50-50 with Sarr. Yet, VAR upheld the ref’s call.
The right call?
It was maybe one of those where the on-field decision would have stood regardless of what the referee decided initially. James Ward-Prowse, to no one’s surprise, smashed the penalty into a virtually unsavable part of the goal.
This meant we dropped two vital points on the road, which can have telling consequences in our race for a top-four finish. Speaking after the game, Conte made it clear (h/t Football.London) that he didn’t think it was a penalty but also said it doesn’t hide the fact that Spurs were poor in other areas.
“If we are going to discuss the penalty it means we don’t want to see other situations. For the penalty for me it was not a penalty. I stop, we close the situation. The worst situation is what was happening on the pitch. What has been happening in the last few months, what is happening in my second season.”
Conte is perhaps right with his assessment that Spurs’ mentality throughout the season hasn’t been that of a team capable of winning titles. But he is the manager, and fingers should be pointed at him as well.
It can’t be ruled out completely that his contract situation could make the players doubt his commitment to the club and their belief in the project. Why would they believe in it if the manager doesn’t?
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Transfer News: Chelsea make the first move for Tottenham Hotspur target Andre Onana
- Real Madrid join Bayern Munich and Manchester United in pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane
- Pundit urges Tottenham Hotspur to be patient with Pedro Porro
Of course, we were very poor in defending all three of Southampton’s goals today, especially Theo Walcott’s strike, but Conte is a man known for his defensive organisation on the pitch and he has had three transfer windows to formulate a backline he desires.
