TOTTENHAM were awarded a penalty against Arsenal by VAR after Michael Oliver missed a “kick in the balls”.
The referee initially waved play on before penalising Declan Rice for a foul on Ben Davies.
However, with the Spurs defender left rolling around in agony, he was quickly sent to the monitor to review the incident.
Oliver pointed to the spot after a matter of seconds having seen the incident again.
Davies had beaten Rice to the ball as he attempted to clear the ball from inside the Arsenal penalty area.
As a result, the midfielder’s follow through upended Davies and left the Welshman in pain.
Gary Neville had immediately called for a penalty on commentary after the contact, with fans shocked Oliver missed the foul at first.
Reacting on social media, one supporter wrote: “The fact Michael Oliver needed VAR for that, is brazy. Rice almost kicked his balls.”
Another added: “Michael Oliver didn’t see Rice kick somebody straight in the plumbs from three yards away!!!”
A third fan also commented: “Michael Oliver is about five feet from that Rice foul and doesn’t give the penalty.”
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Meanwhile, one more said: “He’s five yards away and he can’t see Rice kick him in the balls? They can’t keep relying on VAR.”
Son Heung-min stepped up from 12 yards to dispatch the resulting penalty and set up a tense finish in North London.
Spurs had trailed 3-0 at half-time before mounting a second half comeback.
The penalty reduced the deficit to 3-2 after Cristian Romero had earlier capitalised on a mistake from David Raya.
However, despite late pressure from the hosts, Arsenal held on to secure a narrow derby victory.
The result sees Mikel Arteta’s side move four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
City could cut the gap back down to one by beating Nottingham Forest this afternoon, though.
