Tottenham Hotspur have been on the losing side yet again as Nottingham Forest wins by a narrow margin (FT: 1-0) in a game that didn’t have a lot going on, and the defeat comes with controversy for the Lilywhites surrounding goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
The pressure continues to mount on Ange Postecoglou as his side continues to steer away from their objectives of a top four qualification with Anthony Elanga’s goal enough to take away three points and belting a lot of comments and criticism.
However, things could have been worse if Forster had been punished for the incident that happened a bit later in the game. In the 70th minute, the 36-year-old backup keeper sprinted to the edge of the penalty area to gather a ball kicked long by the Forest defence, and after having comfortably caught the ball, the former Southampton goalkeeper followed up the action with a step out of the area with the ball still stuck to his palm.
Now the question arises whether the ball was fully out or not, and that’s at least what the assistant referee on the sidelines thought, and Foster managed to get away with one.
Keith speaks up on controversial Forster decision
And ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes that it was a correct judgement by the refs given the lack of evidence. Speaking to Football Insider, he said:
“The situation here is that the goalkeeper stepping out of the area in itself is not an offence. The judgement is what holding the ball in his hands.
“Could the referee and VAR determine if the whole of the ball in the goalkeeper’s hand is outside the penalty area? If any part of the ball is viewed as having been in the line, no offence has been committed.
“So the video does not give confirmation that the goalkeeper has carried the whole of the ball out of the penalty area.
“There is no evidence to give that clarity. Referees should not guess. Therefore, I support the referee’s decision.”
With first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario serving the sidelines owing to his ankle injury, the North Londoners would be relieved that the Australian head coach didn’t lose his backup because of the aforementioned incident.
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- TTLB Opinion: £15m South American star could help Ange Postecoglou salvage Tottenham stint
- Tottenham now in position to hijack Chelsea deal for Serie A ace
Forster and Tottenham will be looking to get back to winning ways as the games continue to come thick and fast in the festive period with the Lilywhites set to host Wolves on Sunday.
