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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/Sparky-moon on 2026-02-25 06:57:19+00:00.
Peter Bankes, the referee in Sunday’s north London derby, is convinced he was right to rule out Randal Kolo Muani’s goal for a push on Arsenal’s Gabriel.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, Bankes said: “I see two hands from the Tottenham player into the back of the Arsenal player and that is going to be my main focus. Once you see two hands in live play, it looks like a push, a clear push.
“I delayed the whistle so that the play could continue, then obviously gave my final decision once the ball had gone into the goal and that allows the VAR then to potentially check if I’ve misread something or if it doesn’t quite look right. But on field it looked a very, very clear offence.”
The VAR confirmed Bankes’ on-field decision and the referee said that, having subsequently looked at replays of the incident, he was “still comfortable” with his ruling.
“Obviously, different speeds can make things look different. In slow motion, it can look different to what you see live,” he added. “I get one look at it, and I was more than happy that the two hands on the back had enough impact and was an offence. I understand there’s going to be split opinions on it, but for me I’m still comfortable that is enough for a free kick.”
Bankes also said that he was prepared to deal with the evolving trend of long throws and a greater focus on crowding the area at set pieces.
“Obviously I’m going to look at some tactics. We get a lot of clips and information through our analysts. I’ll know the players anyway, I’ve seen Arsenal and Tottenham a few times already this season,” he said.
“But again, there’ll be some certain trends, whether they man-to-man press at goal-kicks, how they potentially set up at set pieces. It just gives us some really good information going into the game so we’re well prepared.”