Expert issues emphatic claim as controversial Heung-min Son footage emerges from Tottenham
The referee was right to send Rob Holding off and award Tottenham a penalty as they beat Arsenal 3-0 on Thursday (12 May), according to Danny Mills.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Man City and England defender admitted the penalty was “soft” but still the right decision and Holding was “daft” as he gave the referee a decision to make.
Spurs were awarded a penalty after 22 minutes when Cedric Soares pushed Heung-min Son in the back as a cross was floated in.
Holding, 26, was shown a second yellow card just over 10 minutes later for a foul on Son.
“The penalty was soft but it is a penalty,” Mills said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Soft, hard, it doesn’t really matter. Go back to Luke Ayling’s red card against Arsenal, that was a hard red card but it’s still a red card. The penalty is a soft penalty but it’s still a penalty.
“Occasionally you’ll get away with it but realistically it’s a penalty. That’s why it was given, that’s why it was checked by VAR and you can’t have too many complaints about that.
“With Rob Holding, he committed fouls time and time again. Once you get that first booking you can’t make silly challenges, it’s as simple as that.
“It’s the responsibility of the player not to be daft. How many times do we say, if you’re on a booking don’t give the referee a decision to make.
“If you think about the things you can be booked for, a tiny trip here and there, you know you can’t do it.
“It was a lack of judgement and the player has to take responsibility for that.”
In other news, the Tottenham board told to hand Conte a £150million war chest after a journalist’s update.