Dominic Solanke started for Tottenham against Ipswich [Credit: Imago]
Dominic Solanke started for Tottenham against Ipswich [Credit: Imago]

Tottenham told 'Law is clear' after Dominic Solanke controversy v Ipswich

Keith Hackett

Refereeing Consultant AUTHORITY Former FIFA Referee; Head of PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited). FOCUS Laws of the Game, VAR implementation, officiating performance, and PGMOL policy. THE AUDIT Keith utilises Statscore’s Officiating Telemetry, including Deep-Data Metrics like Incident Accuracy Rates, VAR Intervention Latency, and Official Positional Efficiency. He provides technical refereeing analysis to reveal the regulatory reality behind match-defining decisions.

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Keith Hackett insists Tottenham cannot complain about Dominic Solanke's goal against Ipswich on Sunday being disallowed.

Solanke thought he had halved the deficit for Spurs in their 2-1 loss to Ipswich at home on 10 November before Rodrigo Bentancur did when he stabbed the ball in from close range in the 49th minute.

However, the goal was disallowed after a VAR check found the ball came off the England international's hand after he had taken the shot, leaving the likes of Jamie O'Hara infuriated.

Hackett, though, did not find anything wrong with the decision, stressing that the use of a player's hand in scoring a goal even if accidental is against the law.

Dominic Solanke controversy in Tottenham v Ipswich addressed

Speaking exclusively to Tottenham Hotspur News, Hackett, a former FIFA referee and PGMOL chief, said: "The law is clear. Even if it's accidental, you cannot score a goal with the use of your arm.

"In this situation, it's the correct decision."

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou is in his second season at Tottenham. (Credit: Imago)

While the incident summed up Solanke's performance, the result saw Spurs miss the chance to move to third in the Premier League and allowed Ipswich to move out of the relegation zone.

Ange Postecoglou's side instead find themselves sitting tenth in the table with 16 points, having won five and drawn one of their 11 games.

It remains to be seen if they can return to winning ways when they visit Manchester City after the international break on 23 November.

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