Ex-refs chief: Micky van de Ven should be banned as Tottenham controversy re-analysed
Tottenham were on the right side of a major refereeing decision involving Micky van de Ven during the win over Villarreal, a former PGMOL chief has stated.
In Thomas Frank’s first-ever Champions League match, he watched his side earn victory courtesy of an own goal in the opening minutes by the visiting goalkeeper.
Whilst Spurs started on the front foot, their sloppy opening to the second half allowed Villarreal to create chances and set up a nervy finish.
Xavi Simons was poor against Villarreal and questioned for playing on the left, and it shows Frank still has work to do ahead of their next Champions League encounter against Bodo/Glimt.
Micky van de Ven nearly cost Tottenham against Villarreal
Spurs’ night could have been made even harder due to decisions made by Simons and centre-back Micky van de Ven.
Simons was fortunate not to be sent off against Villarreal for a second bookable offence, and van de Ven was in a similar situation.
The Spurs defender brought down a Villarreal attacker whilst he was running into the penalty area, with under 10 minutes of the match remaining.
The referee decided to only book van de Ven for the incident despite strong protests from the visitors and following a VAR check.
Van de Ven should have seen red
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has delivered his expert opinion on the situation and believes van de Ven was fortunate not to see red, and to be serving a subsequent Champions League suspension.
“Van de Ven is rather fortunate not to receive a red card for the Denial of an obvious goal Scoring opportunity,” Hackett said.
“I can only imagine that the match official was of the opinion that the attackers probability to control the ball and the position of the covering defender left him in doubt to produce a red and opted for a yellow.
“Frankly VAR should have intervened to allow the referee to take a second look and that would have resulted in a red card.”
The sending off could have provided Villarreal with a greater chance of landing a late equaliser, but instead Spurs hung on for a perfect start to their Champions League journey.