Tottenham vs. Liverpool: *Bumper* Post-Scandal Analysis

Paul Tomkins, Andrew Beasley, Daniel Rhodes and other TTT regulars will give their thoughts on the match for 24 hours after the game, so the article received via email is unlikely to be the final version. There's statistics from the match and videos too.

Post-Match Thoughts

Paul Tomkins

So, so, so unlucky, Redmen.

Almost a draw with nine men in a game where Chicago in the 1930s looked less corrupt.

Liverpool were immense, the officials so tiny they resemble the shrivelled penises of desiccated gnats, who were particularly poorly-hung even for gnats.

When you think you’ve seen it all.

Liverpool were absolutely robbed by a rabid ref and a horrible VAR whose history with Liverpool is to avoid giving anything. To call them gnat's penises is too kind.

Indeed, in my months-long mega-study of the officiating of the four most successful Premier League sides since 2015 that I'm close to finishing, looking at 1,200 games in total, Darren England gave just two overturns in 55 games as a VAR, and Simon Hooper had made just one Big Decision in 18 games.

I joked before the match on this site that of course they'll be busy today. I was expecting a penalty; not two red cards and a shocking offside decision.

To make matters worse, Darren England then used psychological priming to show Hooper the still image that was misleading, and anyone who knows anything knows that this primes the brain; first impressions. He got the ref to review the outcome, not the incident. Only then did he show the incident, which is as sneaky as fuck. It's corrupt, genuinely corrupt; not necessarily iffy payments corrupt, but morally bankrupt.

Curtis Jones' perfectly normal tackle saw his foot bounce up off the ball, and he wasn't out of control; he wasn't otherwise off the ground.

England – far more controversially – then ruled out a miles-onside Luis Díaz goal with no use of lines. I'm currently literally losing my eyesight and I can see more clearly.

Look for yourselves. If there’s any foreshortening it should actually favour Díaz. (Image via Simon Clancy on Twitter/X).

These days I trust the lines.

But if they don’t draw the lines, I don’t trust them. I really don’t trust Darren England.

A quick check of a goal? Why do they spend almost zero time when it comes to making decisions that will suit Liverpool? This is to rule out a goal, and should be assessed properly.

And the grass cut shows he’s onside. It was vital in that it was 0-0 and the Reds were down to ten men. That it went 1-0 and 1-1 is irrelevant, as it should have been 1-0 to the Reds.

Diogo Jota was then sent off for two yellows, when one wasn't even a foul; and the last player sent off against Liverpool for two yellows was Sadio Mané in 2015, for Southampton.

This is an older piece of data (via Andrew Beasley), on 2nd yellows; and the tally rises for other clubs (like Spurs). It's almost 300 league games since an opponent received two yellows against the Reds. Liverpool are FIVE TIMES behind the next clubs. That’s freakishly unlikely to happen randomly.

(Correct as of before this season.)

The officials have gone insane. Ever since Jürgen Klopp had the bust-up with Paul Tierney and John Brooks, they’ve lost their integrity, if they had any to start with.

Liverpool were brilliant; Alisson's saves, the last-ditch defending, the running up front, the battling in midfield. But as much as I want to focus on the football, you can't play away at a Big Six club with nine men, against 13-15 depending on how honest the linesmen are, too. You can’t have to score two legitimate goals to have only one count.

Hooper was a disgrace, but Darren England should be sacked, he's so bad.

It's even worse than the game at Spurs two years ago when Harry Kane wasn't sent off, Jota wasn't given a penalty for a clear foul on him, and yet Andy Robertson was dismissed.

Compare the Jones challenge to the Harry Kane one two seasons ago in the same fixture.

Red card. Back foot on the ground. Gets the ball. (Note: England didn’t show this image to Hooper.)

Yellow card. Off the ground. Studs into the shin, after missing the ball.

This is what I’m so frequently vexed by – it’s pathetic from people paid up to £200,000 a year, to ruin matches and not make the right decisions. I’ll nail the refs who are the total Homers as well, too. You can’t keep outperforming shitty refereeing and VAR work.

Before I hit publish, this hit the wires:

It’s not good enough, though. It cost Liverpool the chance of three points, or even one point. Human error for offsides should not happen. Darren England is someone I’ve questioned in the past, as being untrustworthy. This pivotal weekend has been rocked by an appalling gaffe.

Anyway, I'll try and save some thoughts for subscribers below, but warning, it'll mostly be fume.

The majority of my analysis and the analysis of the others follows for subscribers only.