Frank Lampard has questioned VAR’s decision to let Omar Marmoush’s goal stand in Tottenham’s 3-1 win over Coventry City, saying the forward seemed to catch Milan van Ewijk with a raised elbow in the build-up.
Marmoush restored Spurs’ lead in the 58th minute with a brilliant curling finish past Carl Rushworth, his first goal since joining from Manchester City in the summer. Replays showed him lifting an arm to shield the ball and making contact with Van Ewijk, who stayed down while Marmoush carried on and scored. VAR checked the incident and found nothing serious enough to chalk the goal off.
Speaking after the match, the Coventry boss said he expected VAR to step in and cancel the goal. In his view, with the elbows that high and the contact Van Ewijk took, an intervention was the obvious outcome. He was careful not to say too much, noting that dissecting officiating decisions after the fact rarely achieves anything, but he stood by his belief that the moment deserved a closer look.
Lampard also felt other calls went against his side, pointing to a disputed corner, a foul on Brandon Thomas-Asante as he fought to stay on his feet, and a late moment where Coventry were denied the benefit of an advantage. He said these small incidents add up and mattered a great deal to his team’s chances.
Even so, he was pleased with what he saw from his players. He felt the 3-1 scoreline painted a misleading picture, since Coventry were pushing hard when they were only 2-1 down.
He gave Tottenham credit too, admitting that it took two outstanding, world-class goals from them to make the difference.
Lampard then underlined the experience gap between the sides, noting that eight of his starters had recently been playing Championship football. He accepted that Spurs will improve, but argued that on the pitch you would never have guessed which club has spent 25 years in the Premier League and which has spent 25 years outside it.
Tottenham took the three points, but Lampard’s comments kept Marmoush’s goal and the VAR decision at the center of the post-match debate.
