Thomas Frank was not happy with 'common sense' error referee Chris Kavanagh made as Newcastle United beat Spurs
Sky Sports and ITV's cameras filmed the crime of the century and broadcast it live to the nation last night as Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Carabao Cup.
Newcastle took the lead in the 24th minute via the head of Fabian Schar, who nodded home a beautifully whipped in Sandro Tonali's corner.
However, despite there being no infringement whatsoever, the Spurs players surrounded referee Chris Kavanagh, Richarlison in particular, protesting at Kavanagh's decision to allow the corner to have been taken.
Moments prior to Tonali taking the corner, Spurs full-back Djed Spence had to re-tie his boot laces after they were caught up in Anthony Elanga's studs. It took Spence an age to get his boot on right, but soon the newly-crowned England star was back on his feet and jogging back to his position. This is when Tonali took the corner and Fabi scored.
Jamie Redknapp was close to tears at full-time
If you'd heard Jamie Redknapp at half-time on Sky Sports, you'd think there'd been an assault. The former Spurs man was acting as if it were a crime against humanity that Newcastle took advantage of the situation.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank, naturally, wasn't happy with the decision and was adamant that Chris Kavanagh made a mistake, telling Sky Sports it was 'common sense' to let him get back to his post.
"We conceded two goals from mistakes. The first is a mistake from Chris (Kavanagh), the ref, because he didn't allow Djed (Spence) time to come back in, which he clearly should've done. And on top of that, Djed is supposed to mark Schar, who scored.
"The second, unfortunately, was a mistake from Tony (Antonin Kinsky)."
On Schar's opener: "It was completely common sense [to allow Spence time to recover].
"It's not the 88th minute. Djed's coming back to a position; he's not doing anything on purpose. He needs to do his shoe laces - clearly it had come off the boot, so that's just my little feeling."
Jamie Redknapp claimed it's an 'unwritten rule' to allow the opposition time to get into position
There is nothing in the rules to say Newcastle had to wait for Spence to take up his position, although Redknapp insisted it's an 'unwritten rule among players'.
Yeah mate, because taking quick free kicks while the opposition are scattered out of position has never been a thing, has it? Newcastle saw an advantage, took it, and benefited from it.
Had it been the other way around, the incident probably wouldn't even have been looked at, never mind analysed more than the actual game itself.
Absolutely pathetic 'Big Six' bias on display by Sky Sports. We'll let Thomas Frank off as he is the Spurs manager, and looking for excuses is what managers do, but Jamie Redknapp was embarrassing.
