Premier League release statement on controversial Tottenham incident vs Bournemouth
Antoine Semenyo has broken Tottenham hearts twice now after he scored a last-gasp winner to beat Thomas Frank’s men.
Spurs tried to sign Semenyo in the summer and showed interest when they found out he had a £65million release clause ahead of January.
But the Ghanaian international has agreed a move to Manchester City, and he added insult to injury with a world-class finish in added time past Guglielmo Vicario.
That came after Tottenham thought they’d salvaged a point through Joao Palhinha’s incredible bicycle kick, but it wasn’t to be, and there was a controversial decision that went against the visitors.
🚨🚨| GOAL: SEMENYO GIVES BOURNEMOUTH THE LEAD!!!!
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) January 7, 2026
Bournemouth 3-2 Tottenham
pic.twitter.com/qoDi3PpVM3
Premier League releases statement on Tottenham penalty incident vs Bournemouth
When Tottenham were 2-1 behind in the second half, the visitors were probing for an equaliser, and Micky van de Ven took matters into his own hands.
The Dutchman set off on one of his trademark, lung-bursting runs, and he went down in the box under the challenge of James Hill.
Referee Darren England awarded a penalty as a result, but VAR immediately intervened and decided that Van de Ven initiated the contact with Hill.
#BOUTOT – 72’ VAR OVERTURN
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) January 7, 2026
After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of penalty to Tottenham Hotspur.
Referee announcement: “After review, there is no foul by red 23. My final decision is drop ball to the goalkeeper.”
Releasing a statement of the incident on X, the Premier League’s Match Centre account wrote: “After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of penalty to Tottenham Hotspur.
“Referee announcement: “After review, there is no foul by red 23. My final decision is drop ball to the goalkeeper.”
Van de Ven was travelling at some speed upon entering the box, so any contact was going to take him off balance, and the visitors were arguably unfortunate not to be awarded a spot kick.
Why Tottenham must sack Thomas Frank immediately
Spurs produced another inconsistent performance on Wednesday night, and unfortunately, Frank has shown that he’s out of his depth.
Frank has been under pressure for a while at Tottenham and he doesn’t have the tactical nous or initiative to turn the tide.
Some of his tactical decisions are baffling, such as the call to use Lucas Bergvall as a winger and not start Richarlison against Bournemouth.
Worryingly, the Cherries victory ended their run of 11 Premier League games without a win, and to make matters worse, it was Semenyo’s parting gift that secured them all three points.
Spurs should be finishing in the European places this season, or that should be the expectation, and Frank doesn’t have the tools to deliver.
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