Nottingham Forest’s disallowed goal against Tottenham has become the main talking point from Saturday’s goalless draw at the City Ground, where Spurs picked up their first point of the season despite a largely stalemate affair.
The controversy centres on the 65th minute, when Neco Williams headed home after Sandro Tonali tried to block the ball from going in. VAR stepped in and chalked off the goal, with replays suggesting the ball may have brushed the Forest defender’s arm on the way in.
Williams and Forest boss Oliver Glasner were both incensed, insisting the evidence wasn’t strong enough to call it a clear handball. Former top referee Keith Hackett backed that view, telling Football Insider that after reviewing the footage repeatedly, he found it inconclusive whether the ball actually struck Williams’ hand or arm — and that without clear proof, VAR shouldn’t have overturned the goal. He stressed the law only applies when contact with the hand or arm is confirmed and leads directly to the goal.
That said, the available footage does appear to show the ball catching Williams’ hand, which would make the VAR call more justified than Hackett suggests. With Glasner, Williams and Hackett on one side and the visual evidence pointing the other way, the incident looks set to keep fueling debate.
