Newcastle United vs Tottenham ref watch: Three decisions Thomas Bramall got wrong
Thomas Bramall forced himself into the spotlight with his refereeing performance during Newcastle United’s clash with Tottenham.
Thomas Frank is fighting to keep his job at Tottenham, with supporters becoming more and more frustrated by the former Brentford boss, and he will have been desperate for victory at St James’ Park.
After an extremely dull opening 45 minutes, it looked as though the game would be heading for a stalemate draw, that was, until Bruno Guimaraes fired home in the 71st minute.
Cristian Romero came back from suspension to equalise, before also netting a bicycle kick in the fifth minute of added time after Anthony Gordon was able to fire home from the penalty spot.
In between all of the drama, Bramall still managed to make himself visible.
Thomas Bramall ruins the flow at St James’ Park
The first half was unbearably stop-start, with neither side able to get into the game properly, and much of that was down to the referee stopping the play from flowing.
It seemed like there was a whistle blown every minute, and everyone in St James’ Park was getting very fed up, with boos and whistles during most of the first 45 minutes.
Bramall’s biggest mistake came in Aston Villa versus Man United last season, and fans are not over the moon whenever he is announced to referee their games.
Randal Kolo Muani deserved more after defensive actions
In the 49th minute, Randal Kolo Muani had done extremely well to come back and defend, only for his actions to be completely overturned when Bramall felt there had been no foul on him.
The Frenchman was absolutely baffled after being hauled to the ground, and while the Magpies didn’t make anything of the situation, it was a frustrating moment for the away side.
Dan Burn was awarded an extremely soft penalty against Rodrigo Bentancur
This incident will be up for debate for the rest of the week, and likely one that is covered by Howard Webb in his television show.
Dan Burn and Rodrigo Bentancur certainly tangled inside the penalty area, but when the Newcastle defender looked completely confused by a VAR check, fans knew it should not have been a penalty.
Many will feel that justice was served when Romero scored a second equaliser, because the penalty awarded in Newcastle’s favour looked incredibly soft. Another referee afraid to disagree with VAR?