Tottenham Loses 3 Vital Points Due to Poor Officiating

The race for the top four in the English Premier League couldn’t be any tighter this year, with only five points separating third from seventh place in the table. On Sunday afternoon, Tottenham dropped three crucial points with its 2-1 loss to Stoke City.

While no disrespect is meant to Stoke, which was bolstered by great last-ditch defending, a superb performance from goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson and a goal off yet another long throw-in, center official Chris Foy and his assistant referees had much more to do with Tottenham’s defeat than Stoke’s skill.

Here are seven missed calls that cost Tottenham the win:

Peter Crouch’s Handball – 13th Minute

In the 13^th minute, Stoke City went up 1-0 after Matthew Etherington finished off a Peter Crouch cross. The trouble was, Crouch clearly settled the ball in the box with his arm before laying the ball off for the assist.

Ryan Shawcross’ Foul– 65th Minute

On a corner kick shortly after Tottenham made the game 2-1, Shawcross pulled Younes Kaboul down from behind as Kaboul was about to go up for a wide open header in front of the Stoke goal. Having just given a penalty to Spurs three minutes earlier, Foy swallowed his whistle and let play continue. Kaboul was cautioned for his protests.

Stoke Goal Kick – 70th Minute

As Tottenham continued their barrage of the Stoke penalty area, Gareth Bale made one of his prototypical bursting runs down the sideline. As he approached the endline, Stoke defender Ryan Shotton kicked the ball and Bale shielding it out of bounds for what should have been a Spurs corner kick. Foy incredibly called it a goal kick much to the displeasure of Bale.

Ryan Shawcross’ Handball – 74th Minute

As Tottenham besieged the Stoke goal looking for the equalizer, a Luka Modric cross found Kyle Walker on the back post. Walker slammed the ball on frame, but the shot was kept out of the net by Ryan Shawcross' arm. While this should have resulted in a Tottenham penalty and the end of Shawcross’ day, neither happened.

Emmanuel Adebayor’s Disallowed Goal – 75th Minute

As the Stoke defense tried to recover from the chaos in front of their net following Walker’s shot and Shawcross’ handball, Rafael van der Vaart played the ball back into the box which Adebayor collected and deposited into the back of the Stoke net. The assistant referee flagged the goal offside which replays showed was clearly the wrong call. Stoke defender Marc Wilson had held him on.

Dean Whitehead’s handball – 78th minute

Picking up a loose ball off of a corner kick, Scott Parker made a terrific endline run getting behind the Stoke defense. He centered the ball for Jermaine Defoe who smashed a shot off Dean Whitehead’s hands. Yes, plural. There was no call.

Younes Kaboul’s Red Card – 82nd Minute

Chris Foy continued to make matters worse in the 83^rd minute, giving Kaboul his second yellow card in less than 20 minutes. Kaboul had clearly fouled Stoke forward Jonathan Walters, but it was a fairly innocuous challenge.

Having booked Kaboul for dissent after Foy missed the push on Kaboul in the box in the 65^th minute, Foy now tripled his error by sending Kaboul off. Prior to the call, Tottenham had looked destined to equalize and perhaps, with some better officiating, win the game. After the red card, they were cooked.

Follow me on Twitter @AmerTouchline