Chris Sutton bewildered by 'staggering' incident in Tottenham vs Villarreal
Tottenham avoided a late scare as they saw off Villarreal 1-0 on their return to Champions League action.
Spurs fans were well up for the return of Champions League football to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Tuesday's clash.
Luiz Junior scored an own goal inside four minutes and that proved to the difference between the two sides as Tottenham beat Villarreal 1-0.
Richarlison was slammed for cheating in an attempt to win Spurs a penalty, but ultimately Thomas Frank's side did enough to claim all three points.
However, a late incident in North London left pundit Chris Sutton truly bewildered.
Micky van de Ven avoided late red card vs Villarreal
Tottenham struggled to really build on their early goal and were nearly pegged back in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Micky van de Ven's heart would have been in his mouth as he sent Georges Mikautadze to the ground as the Villarreal attacker was chasing down a through-ball.
It initially appeared the referee had pointed to the penalty spot, but instead it was only a free-kick. VAR confirmed the contact took place outside the box.
And there was further reprieve to follow as it was adjudged that Van de Ven did not deny Mikautadze a clear goalscoring opportunity, and therefore he was given just a yellow card and not a red.
However, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of the game, Sutton said: "The foul is outside the penalty area and if so, surely that is a red card for Van de Ven?
"That is very odd that it's been awarded as a yellow. That's a staggering call. It's a denial of a goal scoring opportunity."
Mark Clattenburg explains why Micky van de Ven didn't get sent off
While on the face of it it did seem strange Van de Ven didn't get sent off, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg explained on Amazon Prime why the Dutchman dodged a red card.
The ball was bouncing away from the Villarreal attacker towards the corner flag, meaning he was unlikely to have had a clear route through on goal.
| Tackles | 4 |
| Interceptions | 1 |
| Blocked Shots | 1 |
| Accurate Passes | 63/68 (93%) |
| Key Passes | 1 |
| Duels Won | 3/6 (50%) |
For that reason, Van de Ven avoided a red. Just as importantly, the contact was a yard outside the box so no penalty was given.
Thankfully for Spurs, they saw out the remaining few minutes and have three points on the board from their opening league phase game.
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