Tottenham vs Aston Villa ref watch: Three decisions Craig Pawson got wrong in FA Cup showdown
Craig Pawson made a few contentious decisions as Aston Villa knocked Tottenham out of the FA Cup on Saturday evening.
Emi Buendia continued his brilliant form for Villa before Morgan Rogers doubled the lead for the visitors on 10 January, with Wilson Odobert grabbing one back in the second half.
Thomas Frank is under major pressure, with Spurs only winning one of their last seven games, and having now been knocked out of the FA Cup, the manager is losing faith in North London.
Xavi Simons made a huge impact, possibly even putting in his best performance since joining the club, but both teams were forced to contend with the referee and his interesting decisions.
Xavi Simons begins to earn a reputation
Just three minutes into the game, Simons left a strong boot on Matty Cash, who was left in a heap for a few moments before returning to his feet and carrying on.
Watching replays of the challenge, only a few games after Simons was sent off against Liverpool, it was far from a nice foul on the Poland international, and the Spurs man was fortunate to escape a sanction.
Joao Palhinha could have also been carded in the opening minutes, so Pawson was clearly keen to keep his cards in his pocket in North London.
Craig Pawson robs Tottenham of goalscoring opportunity
Randal Kolo Muani thought he had netted an all-important equaliser, only for the offside flag to be raised, and celebrations quickly came to a stop at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There was a pretty blatant foul on Simons in the build-up, which should have turned into an advantage for the Lilywhites, but it was nothing more than a free-kick to Villa.
Given that the foul happened just outside the penalty area, it would have been a very dangerous position for someone like Pedro Porro, but Spurs were completely robbed of the free-kick.
Ollie Watkins gets away with blatant lash-out
Ollie Watkins definitely should have gone into the referee’s notebook, if not even sent off, after a major clash with Palhinha, with replays showing a clear kick-out from the striker.
The England international swiped the midfielder’s legs from underneath him, but once again, Pawson was slow to react, instead having to break up a group of players in the aftermath.