Mark Clattenburg has now exclusively told Manchester City News that the Citizens deserved a penalty in the 2-0 defeat against Tottenham.
Pep Guardiola saw his side get away with a mistake of their own as James Trafford came racing out of his box in the opening 45 minutes, appearing to both knee Mohammed Kudus in the stomach and handle the ball.
However, Mark Clattenburg – who officiated 297 Premier League games throughout his refereeing career – sympathises with Manchester City and has been left astonished by the VAR overlooking a foul from Micky van de Ven on Oscar Bobb.
Exclusive: Mark Clattenburg says he does “not understand” how foul on Oscar Bobb was not a penalty
The 50-year-old has exclusively told Manchester City News that the Tottenham No.37 should have been penalised for fouling the Norway international inside the area.
It happened as Spurs led 2-0 following goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha.
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Strangely, those in the VAR booth did not even check the incident.
Clattenburg said: “Van de Ven is very fortunate not to give away a penalty kick for a challenge on Bobb. There is no touch on the ball and Van de Ven steps on Bobb’s foot – which is normally given as a foul and yellow card.
“The frustration for Manchester City fans is that VAR does not interfere, and this I do not understand – it’s a clear foul and inside the penalty area, so a penalty kick should have been awarded.”
The incident was not even posted as a clip by TNT Sports like the aforementioned challenge on Kudus by Trafford was, so it feels like the challenge has truly been swept under the carpet.
We usually see these situations given as penalties, so Guardiola – who Rayan Cherki kept looking to for inspiration – will surely be left scratching his head.
Manchester City cannot blame the officials for 2-0 defeat
As bizarre as this penalty call was, Manchester City have to take responsibility for what was a poor performance.
Even in the opening periods, the standard of passing was poor, with many balls overhit or misplaced in promising attacking areas.
This sloppiness then started to occur further back, as James Trafford – who could soon be replaced by Gianluigi Donnarumma – inexplicably passed the ball to Nico Gonzalez under immense pressure from Pape Sarr, which led to Tottenham’s second goal.
A penalty could have potentially seen Manchester City battle back to earn a point – as this incident occurred in the 54th minute – but in the grand scheme of things, a draw would have papered over the cracks of what was a concerning display.