When Tottenham and Chelsea face each other, controversy is never far away.
The latest uproar involved Hakim Ziyech during their Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
In the first half’s stoppage time, Ziyech clipped Tottenham’s Richarlison’s heels, leading to a scuffle between both teams. Tottenham’s right wingback, Emerson Royal, barged Ziyech from behind, to which Ziyech responded by shoving Emerson, who fell to the floor while holding his face.
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Referee Stuart Attwell showed Kai Havertz and Emerson a pair of yellow cards after consulting with his assistant, Darren Cann. Attwell then appeared to be in dialogue with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) before showing Ziyech a red card almost four minutes after the incident.
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The initial VAR intervention appears to have been used to identify the perpetrator, which neither Attwell nor Cann could do in real-time, rather than assess the severity of the crime.
The referee was then directed to the pitch-side monitor to rewatch the incident, where he deemed that the contact Ziyech made wasn’t worthy of a red card.
This latest controversy only adds to the rivalry between Tottenham and Chelsea, which is known to be one of the spikiest London derbies in the Premier League.