Tottenham Hotspur were controversially denied a first-half penalty at the Stadium of Light after VAR ruled that Omar Alderete made a clean tackle on Randal Kolo Muani.
Spurs thought they had a chance to go ahead midway through the half when Kolo Muani burst into the Sunderland box. Referee Rob Jones initially awarded a penalty following Alderete’s challenge, with Luke O’Nien also involved in the collision.
However, VAR official James Bell stepped in and asked Jones to review the incident on the monitor. After checking the replay, it was evident that Alderete got the ball first before any contact with Kolo Muani, while O’Nien’s challenge came after.
The referee then reversed his original decision, cancelling the penalty and awarding Sunderland a drop ball instead.
An official statement later confirmed that the defender clearly played the ball first, leading to the final decision of a drop ball to the goalkeeper and no penalty given.
