Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg thinks Destiny Udogie was “lucky” to stay on the pitch in the first half as Tottenham lost 4-1 to Chelsea on Monday night.
Spurs lost their unbeaten start to the Premier League season in a pulsating London derby in which five goals were disallowed and the hosts played the final 35 minutes with nine men.
To add salt into fresh Tottenham wounds, Micky van de Ven was forced off with a hamstring injury and James Maddison had to be withdrawn due to an ankle knock, while Cristian Romero and Udogie, who were both sent off, will sit out this weekend’s trip to Wolves.
Ange Postecoglou’s side battled admirably, first with 10 men from the 35th minute and then when down to nine early in the second half, but Nicolas Jackson grabbed the first of his three goals with quarter of an hour left to finally break the hosts’ resolve.
There were nine separate VAR reviews for various incidents on the night with Udogie’s challenge on Raheem Sterling being deemed worthy of a yellow card and not a red.
Udogie eventually got a second yellow card early on in the second half for another challenge but Clattenburg reckons the Tottenham defender got away with one on Sterling.
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“Destiny Udogie was lucky for two reasons,” Clattenburg told the Daily Mail. “One, because Raheem Sterling pulled his leg away to prevent a serious injury.
“Two, because Brooks did not tell Oliver that this challenge was worthy of a red. Udogie was airborne, leading with two feet, with studs showing.”
Clattenburg dished out 13 yellow cards in the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ in 2016 as Chelsea ended Tottenham’s title hopes in a 2-2 draw and the former Premier League referee insisted last night’s match reminded him of that contest seven years ago.
“This was mayhem, like some sort of sequel to ‘The Battle of the Bridge’ in 2016,” Clattenburg added.
“That was the hardest match I ever had to referee and this game was as hectic for the officiating team to govern.
“There were crunching challenges, petulant kicks, penalty claims, disallowed goals, potential elbows – and that was only in the first half!
“It was the type of contest that required the officiating team to be at their very best.
“Referee Michael Oliver and VAR John Brooks had to apply the laws but also manage the spectacle, and they were tested to their limits with what happened here.”
