Djed Spence left bewildered by Hoffenheim v Tottenham controversy
Djed Spence was left baffled as Tottenham conceded a penalty against Hoffenheim on Thursday before it was eventually overturned.
Spence posted on X (23 January) in amazement as the Germans were awarded a penalty early in the second half of Spurs’ 3-2 win, after an aerial clash between Brandon Austin and striker Max Moerstedt.
Austin leapt from his line to palm a Hoffenheim cross out of the six-yard box, but collided with Moerstadt after touching the ball, seeing a spot-kick given before VAR stepped in to overturn.
“What??”, Spence posted, accompanied by a pair of crying laughing emojis.
Tottenham v Hoffenheim almost overshadowed by controversy
Spence certainly won’t have been the only individual associated with the Lilywhites to be left scratching their heads at the awarding of a penalty against Austin, who got first contact on the ball in his collision.
While heavy contact between outfield players in the box usually ends up with a spot-kick regardless of who touches the ball first, Austin could do nothing about where he landed after pushing the cross clear.
The situation didn’t get any less farcical after the penalty had been awarded, with Andrej Kramaric having the ball on the spot and preparing his run-up before the referee was called over to the VAR monitor.
Cancelling his initial decision and rescinding the even more baffling yellow card shown to Austin proved to be just done for Spurs, despite them conceding soon afterwards and eventually winning narrowly.
Spence, one of several Lilywhites sidelined with injury, at least saw the funny side, and once he’s back in the team, Austin will hope he can help prevent those kinds of contentious crosses from coming in.
In other Tottenham news, a report linking one of the world’s best players with a move to Spurs left two pundits in stitches.
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