Burnley vs Tottenham ref watch: Three decisions Peter Bankes got wrong
Burnley and Tottenham played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Turf Moor on Saturday as Cristian Romero notched a late equaliser for the visitors.
Tottenham looked the more likely to go ahead in the first-half as respective strikes from Pedro Porro and Wilson Odobert forced Martin Dubravka into some fine saves.
Liverpool target Micky van de Ven soon put them ahead in the 38th minute, as he pounced on a loose ball to slam home from the edge of the area.
Burnley levelled proceedings on the stroke of half-time as Kyle Walker found an unmarked Axel Tuanzebe and he ghosted into the area to slide the ball past Guglielmo Vicario.
The hosts turned the game on its head in the 75th minute as Lyle Foster forced the ball over the line at the second attempt after initially being denied by Vicario.
Thomas Frank is in danger of being sacked, but his blushes were spared at the death as Romero powered Wilson Odobert’s cross home for 2-2.
Refere Peter Bankes was the man in the middle at Turf Moor, and Football Insider have picked out three decisions that he got wrong during the clash.
Florentino should have been booked for foul on Xavi Simons
Spurs were the ones pushing for the opener early on, as playmaker Simons led their attacks and looked to continue his fine recent form.
The Dutchman picked the ball up in an advanced area on the left wing in the 27th minute and ran infield towards the edge of the box before he was hacked down by Florentino Luis and referee Bankes blew for a clear foul.
The ferocity and lateness of the challenge were more than deserving of a booking, and given that Simons was in the final third and about to enter the area, the Burnley midfielder absolutely should have been yellow-carded.
Lesley Ugochukwu deserved a yellow for poor challenge on Conor Gallagher
Burnley had a clear game plan to disrupt Spurs and get in their faces in front of a vociferous Turf Moor crowd, but some of their players were a tad overzealous in their pursuit of three points.
As well as Florentino, another example of a bad tackle which deserved a booking was Ugochukwu‘s challenge from behind on new Spurs signing Gallagher just before the interval.
The Frenchman clattered into Gallagher near the halfway line from behind as Spurs looked to hit back following the equaliser, and while Bankes did give an obvious free-kick, he somehow did not write Ugochukwu’s name into his book.
Lucas Pires should have been cautioned for delaying the restart late on
Burnley grabbed their second goal with 15 minutes to go, and from then on, it was understandably set to be backs to the wall until the final whistle.
The hosts rarely enjoyed possession during the latter stages, with left-back Pires making a foray into the final third and giving away a throw-in before he booted the ball away to waste time.
He caught a fan in the stands with the ball before apologising and running off, and it seemed as if Bankes forgot the rules as he allowed play to go on and did not caution him for a clear bookable offence.