Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy clash over Tottenham controversies vs Villarreal
Tottenham began life back in the Champions League in underwhelming fashion, but their clash with Villarreal was not short of controversy.
Villarreal handed Thomas Frank’s side an early gift after Luiz Junior comically fumbled Lucas Bergvall’s cross into his own net on Tuesday evening.
While the Lilywhites saw out a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, there were two contentious red card incidents involving Xavi Simons and Micky Van de Ven.
Indeed, Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy believe one of those players should have been given his marching orders.
Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy react to Xavi Simons and Micky Van de Ven controversy
Richarlison was accused of cheating for Spurs in a match that had several controversial incidents on 16 September.
New Lilywhites signing Simons bundled Ilias Akhomach to the ground in the penalty area, but no penalty was awarded.
Then, late on, Van de Ven charged into the back of Georges Mikautadze on the edge of the area only to receive a yellow card.
Chris Sutton believes that Van de Ven should have been sent off as the Dutchman denied his opponent a goalscoring opportunity.
O’Hara and Cundy agreed with one decision while speaking on talkSPORT on 16 September, but they were clearly split over the other.
- Villarreal failed to land a shot on target
- Nicolas Pepe fired several shots narrowly wide
- Spurs managed one shot on target
Cundy said: “You got lucky. Xavi Simons should have got a red card by the way, and so should Van de Ven.”
O’Hara replied: “No, Van de Ven’s not a red card.”
Cundy continued: “No, no. Two red cards you could have had tonight.”
O’Hara then finished his argument by saying, “Xavi Simons should have been sent off. I agree with that.”
Cundy ended the segment with, “And by the way, Van de Ven, one of the best centre-backs in the world, according to you, out of position, I tell you what, mate, that is borderline, that is right on the cusp.”
Read more: Jeff Stelling takes swipe at Tottenham fans after what he noticed on TV – he may have a point
Did Xavi Simons and Micky Van de Ven get lucky for Tottenham?
Interestingly, it was Van de Ven’s challenge that caused the greatest uproar as a foul was awarded against him.
When analysing the incident, it is clear that he was the last man, which is why many believe he should have received a red card.
Perhaps the centre-back’s saving grace was that Mikautadze touched the ball away from goal, meaning his goalscoring opportunity was not so clear.
As for Simons, Akhomach was evidently livid that nothing was given, but the shove from Simons did seem soft.
One thing that is for certain is that Frank’s side rode their luck in the encounter and will need to show more quality when they face stronger opponents.
Either way, it’s one game and one win for the Spurs.
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