‘You cannot ignore this’ – Tottenham star should be banned after what he did vs Everton
Pedro Porro should be serving a ban after what he did in Tottenham’s weekend win over Everton.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Craig Pawson missed a sending off in the Toffees’ 3-0 defeat on Sunday, 26 October.
Idrissa Gueye was denied a penalty after a coming together with Mohammed Kudus, with many of those at the Hill Dickonson Stadium certain that the wrong decision had been reached by the officials.
However, with Micky van de Ven netting a brace and Pape Sarr adding a third away from home, the Lilywhites rose to third in the Premier League table, claiming their fifth win in nine games.
Tottenham could have gone down to 10 men vs Everton
Following the game, a screenshot began doing the rounds on social media of a challenge from Porro, clearly crunching into an Everton player and making contact much higher than just the ankle.
While the incident was clearly seen on television, there was no interference from Pawson or VAR review, allowing the Spanish full-back to avoid any kind of punishment.
It was a moment that could have completely shifted the result, much like Jake O’Brien’s equaliser being ruled out for offside, but David Moyes‘ side were left frustrated on Merseyside.
With just five yellow cards and zero reds in the Premier League last season, Porro is rarely a malicious player for Spurs, but Hackett believes he was extremely lucky not to face sanction for his incident.
Pedro Porro cited as Keith Hackett urges referees to stamp down on challenges
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “I wanted to touch on this because I think it’s really important. We’re seeing more of a stamping action, and referees are just thinking players are going for the ball.
“The landing area is either on top of the boot or between the junction of the leg and ankle. For me, the referees have got to stamp down on this.
“My view is, these challenges are endangering the safety of an opponent, so I’m leaning towards red. The safe view would be reckless, and therefore, a yellow card.
“You cannot ignore this. It’s suddenly come into the game, and there’s a view that because there’s an attempt to play the ball, it can’t be punished.”