Premier League explain controversial Fulham goal against Tottenham and even Arsenal legend disagrees

Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League woes continued as they found themselves on the end of a controversial Fulham goal.

Harry Wilson struck after six minutes, volleying home past Guglielmo Vicario.

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However, in the build-up, Radu Dragusin went to ground after being pushed in the back with two hands, while airborne, by Raul Jimenez.

With the Romanian left on the ground, Oscar Bobb was able to lob the ball into the box where a Conor Gallagher attempted clearance then fell to Wilson who finished superbly.

Spurs players instantly surrounded the referee with concerns over the validity of the goal.

It was checked by VAR but the referee’s on-field call was confirmed.

The Premier League Match Centre post on X said: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact by Jiménez on Drăgușin did not meet the threshold for a foul.”

There was particular consternation among the players given they had seen a potential equaliser ruled out in their derby loss to Arsenal for a similar push in the back.

There Randal Kolo Muani put both hands on Gabriel’s back before rifling home with the goal instantly disallowed in the 4-1 loss.

It was a decision later shown on ‘Mic’d up’ where Peter Bankes explained his thought process.

He said: “So, obviously I’m in a position I’d expect to be for a cross coming in from the right-hand side. I see two hands from the Tottenham player into the back of the Arsenal player and that is going to be my main focus.

“Once you see two hands in live play, it looks like a push, a clear push. I delayed the whistle so that the play could continue, then obviously gave my final decision once the ball had gone into the goal and that allows the VAR then to potentially check if I’ve misread something or if it doesn’t quite look right. But on-field it looked a very, very clear offence.”

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When queried on it by Michael Owen, who felt the Brazilian defender had exaggerated the contact, Bankes said: “Not at all. I’m still comfortable. Obviously, different speeds can make things look different.

“In slow motion, it can look different to what you see live. I get one look at it, and I was more than happy that the two hands on the back had enough impact and was an offence.

“I understand there’s going to be split opinions on it, but for me I’m still comfortable that that is enough for a free-kick. “

However, Tottenham found themselves an unlikely ally in Arsenal legend Perry Groves after the decision against Fulham

“It’s a foul,” he told talkSPORT. “It’s no different to the one with Gabriel last week.

“It’s exactly the same with Jimenez, he’s put both his arms in his back.
You can be stronger but he’s pushed him off balance. If he doesn’t put his arms in his back Dragusin heads the ball.

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“What we want is consistency and there’s no consistency.

“The Spurs fans will be absolutely fuming, thinking, ‘Hold on a minute, Gabriel gets away with one because he over-exaggerates like he’s been let out of an [airplane with a] parachute and that one doesn’t get given’.”

Things then got worse for Tottenham as ex-Arsenal midfielder Alex Iwobi then smashed home a stunning strike from the edge of the box to make the scoreline 2-0.