Richarlison accused of cheating as former UEFA official reacts to Tottenham footage
Richarlison has been slammed for a moment that took place in the first half of Tottenham against Villarreal on Tuesday.
The Lilywhites are back in Champions League action for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign, and turned in a bright opening 45 minutes against their Spanish opponents.
Thomas Frank handed Lucas Bergvall a start after he turned in an excellent display at the weekend, and he played a major role in his side hitting the front early on, when his cross was turned in by visiting goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
The N17 outfit have made a positive start to a game once again, but Richarlison has still come in for criticism for a moment in the first half.
This article contains exclusive comments from former PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett.
Richarlison accused of ‘clear act of simulation’
Richarlison has enjoyed a resurgence at Tottenham in the opening games of Frank’s reign, despite the fact that he has frustrated for large parts of his stint in North London.
The Brazilian thought he won a penalty for his side in the first half against Villarreal, only to see his appeals for a spot-kick ultimately waved away by referee Rade Obrenovic.
The striker got his body between the ball and a Villarreal defender inside the area and was felled, but play swiftly continued as normal following a VAR check.
Ex-FIFA official Keith Hackett – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes Richarlison was lucky to escape a sanction from the Slovenian official, after viewing footage of the incident.
“It’s certainly not a foul and frankly, I’m surprised it was checked by VAR,” Hackett said.
“The referee should have detected that this was a clear act of simulation, and referees must issue a yellow card to players when they attempt to deceive them.
“Sadly, Richarlison’s reputation for going to ground easily should be known to officials who prepare for their games by looking at previous games of the teams they are going to officiate.”
Richarlison has to do more at Tottenham
Richarlison could be on his way to a new Tottenham deal, but he will need to cut moments like this out of his game if he is to earn fresh terms.
The 28-year-old has struggled badly since moving from Everton, and simply hasn’t shown enough consistency.
Moments like this will not do him any favours in the eyes of Frank, who would surely have rather seen his frontman remain on his feet and lay the ball back to a teammate for a shot.
Richarlison’s decision-making often lets him down, and that could be telling when it comes to the decision on his future at the end of the season.
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