Credit: Imago

Harri Burton

Sat 25 April 2026 17:00, UK

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Anthony Taylor was the man in the middle as Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur clashed in a fiery affair at Molineux Stadium.

With the Old Gold already relegated ahead of the game on Saturday, 25 April, all the pressure was on Tottenham, as Roberto De Zerbi’s team battled against Premier League relegation.

Dominic Solanke and Xavi Simons were both forced off with injuries in the Midlands, making Spurs’ current situation even more difficult before the final four games of the campaign.

Tottenham eventually broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute, and even with all three points secured against Wolves, the referee took a lot of criticism throughout the 90 minutes.

Andre was fortunate to stay on the pitch at Molineux

Wolves No.7 recklessly slid into Yves Bissouma on the stroke of half-time, picking up a frustrating yellow card, and it was clear what his manager thought of the incident in real time.

Rob Edwards appeared rather worried about the potential for his midfielder to be sent off, but despite a VAR review, Taylor stuck with his original decision of a yellow card.

Bissouma was left in quite a lot of pain at the time, and many felt that a simple caution wasn’t enough.

Anthony Taylor makes a mess of Xavi Simons’ injury

Everyone in the stadium felt for Xavi Simons when he was forced off with an injury against the Old Gold, but the referee really should have dealt with the situation a lot better.

The Dutchman had edged off the pitch after attempting to play on, and instead of sending the medical staff, who were holding a stretcher, around the outside of the pitch, the referee stopped play.

Home supporters were frustrated by Taylor’s handling of the situation, and understandably so. The player was off the pitch, so why did the play have to be stopped?

Mateus Mane right to be frustrated late on

Goalscorer Joao Palhinha was lucky not to be cautioned in the final few minutes when clearly dragging Mateus Mane away from the ball, and even worse than that, no foul was awarded.

Right outside the penalty area, Wolves would have had the perfect chance to equalise before the clock ticked into added time, with Spurs finally getting some luck towards the end of the game.