Ex-PGMOL chief thrilled with Michael Oliver’s historic moment in Tottenham vs Burnley
Tottenham’s win against Burnley proved to be more than just a goal fest on Saturday.
Tottenham dominated Burnley in a 3-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 16 August.
Richarlison’s spectacular double reminded Thomas Frank why he should remain in North London this summer, while Mohammed Kudus was Tottenham’s best player on the pitch.
But the most noteworthy moment of the game may have been one Spurs had little part in at all.
Tottenham News presents the exclusive opinion of former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett.
Michael Oliver praised after Martin Dubravka penalised due to new rule
Tottenham’s confrontation against Burnley will go down in the history books for an unexpected reason.
Oliver has faced criticism over his Tottenham decisions before, but seems to have gotten things right within the opening minutes of the game.
- Under new Premier League rules, goalkeepers cannot hold onto the ball for longer than eight seconds
- The opposition will be awarded a corner if the goalkeeper fails to release the ball
Burnley found this out ten minutes after kick-off when Oliver penalised Martin Dubravka for holding onto the ball for too long, with Keith Hackett believing that this is a rule that needs to be applied consistently throughout the league.
“The simple fact is that we sadly Premier League games get on average approx of 52 minutes of actual playing time,” Hackett said.
“Therefore, it is good to witness action being taken to stop deliberate time wasting. Over recent seasons, the Goalkeeper had to release the ball within six seconds. That law was frankly not enforced.
“The IFAB, responsible for the law, rightly decided something needed to be done. So they changed the law to eight seconds and if the goalkeeper takes longer than the eight the game is stopped and a corner kick is awarded.
“This applies at all levels of the game, so I appreciated the law being applied by this referee. It needs to be applied consistently by all referees.”
- Read more: What Tottenham must do after Burnley win
Should Tottenham be worried by this new rule?
Guglielmo Vicario is generally considered to be good on the ball for a keeper, but he does have his moments of hesitation.
Last season in the Premier League, he recorded 85 per cent passing accuracy but his long balls were below par.
| Pass accuracy | 85.9 per cent |
| Accurate long balls | 55 |
| Long ball accuracy | 38.7 per cent |
These statistics indicate that he is prone to being less efficient on the ball in instances where he feels rushed. As a result, this could force more mistakes from the keeper when playing out from the back next season.
While this is not set in stone, it is something for Frank to keep an eye on as the period progresses.
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