Warning without penalty…one second takes Tottenham out of safety

Tottenham Hotspur’s fate remains up in the air until the final round of the Premier League after they failed to survive their defeat at Chelsea yesterday, Tuesday.

Tottenham lost Chelsea (2-1) at Stamford Bridge, leaving them frozen on 38 points in seventeenth place, two points behind eighteenth-placed West Ham (last relegation position).

A draw with Everton in the last round is enough for Tottenham to stay in the Premier League, especially since the goal difference is much greater than West Ham.

But Tottenham came close to securing their survival in the Chelsea game if not for a decisive decision to deny Spurs a penalty in the final minutes when the score was (2-1).

BBC reported that “Tottenham’s” player Mathis Thiel was going to take the corner, and “Tottenham” demanded a penalty, which was not awarded. Their surprise was doubled when Chelsea’s Koukourea was cautioned for grabbing Spurs defender Micky van de Ven and knocking him to the ground.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checks showed the foul occurred seconds, perhaps even a second, before the ball went into play, meaning no penalty was awarded.

Referee Stuart Atwell had no choice but to issue a yellow card against Kokoria, and when VAR confirmed that the ball had not been kicked, there was no opportunity for a review and a further penalty.

“One second is enough for a certain penalty,” Daniel Sturridge, former striker of “Chelsea” and the England national team, told Sky Sports. “Kukuria is very lucky.”