Antonio Conte does not want Tottenham "to be silent" in the wake of recent decisions he feels have gone against his team.
The Spurs boss was infuriated twice in the last week, firstly by Newcastle United's opening goal in their 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday being awarded despite Conte's belief that scorer Callum Wilson obstructed goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Then in the final seconds of Wednesday's 1-1 home draw with Sporting CP in the Champions League, a Harry Kane goal was disallowed for offside after a lengthy VAR check, which enraged Conte so much he was shown a red card for his reaction.
"I spoke with the sporting director [Fabio Paratici] and also I sent a message to [chairman] Daniel Levy," Conte said at a press conference on Friday. "Also after what happened against Newcastle, we spoke about this, because there is an image very, very clear that it was a foul.
"Sometimes you can accept and say: 'OK, they made a mistake, we have to move on.' But at the same time I think that sometimes you have to try to go to speak and to protect your club. I have to protect my club and the club has to protect itself. To be silent is not good.
"From the start of the season, I always said that I don't want to comment on every decision. And what happened? Every decision has been a disaster from the start, between the Premier League and the Champions League. All I ask is to pay a bit of attention and to try to have the same evaluation for every team."
The draw with Sporting leaves Spurs with a crucial final group game away to Marseille on Tuesday, and Conte admitted that is the main focus for his team, despite a Premier League clash at Bournemouth taking place before then on Saturday.
"In the Premier League, we have a lot of games to play in front of us," he said. "In the Champions League we want to have more games to play but there is a final on Tuesday and this is the difference between the game tomorrow in the Premier League and a game in the Champions League.
"In the Premier League you can have time to recover. In the Champions League we are going to play a final. For this reason my decision is to try make the best decision to understand very well who are the players who are really tired because I don't want to take risks.
"For us, it is a final on Tuesday. I try to make my best selection tomorrow because we also want to have a good result against Bournemouth."
Stuart Attwell named in VAR team for Euro 2024 amid Forest controversy
Stuart Attwell will be one of the VARs at this summer’s European Championship in Germany, with Anthony Taylor among the on-field referees.
The news comes two days on from the pair being on duty for Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, after which the officiating was attacked in a social media post from the visitors that referenced Attwell being “a Luton fan”.
The post said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”
On Monday, Forest said they had submitted a formal request to PGMOL for audio of discussions between Attwell and Taylor in relation to the three incidents to be made public.
They also called on PGMOL to change its rules on officials’ allegiances “to account for contextual rivalries in the league table’, not just local rivalries”.
Three Forest members of staff – boss Nuno Espirito Santo, referee analyst Mark Clattenburg and full-back Neco Williams – have been asked by the Football Association for their observations following comments they made after the match at Goodison Park, while the Premier League is examining the club’s social media post.
As well as Taylor, with assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, Michael Oliver will be the other English on-field referee at the Euros, assisted by Stuart Burt and Dan Cook, UEFA said on Tuesday. The other English VAR alongside Attwell will be David Coote.
Barcelona could demand Real Madrid replay if ‘phantom goal’ deemed legal
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has threatened legal action and could demand a replay after his side were denied a goal against Real Madrid at the weekend.
Lamine Yamal thought he had scored in the 28th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 LaLiga loss at the Bernabeu but, after a lengthy VAR check, it was ruled the ball had not cross the line.
The Spanish competition does not use goalline technology.
Laporta has requested footage and audio of the decision-making over this “phantom goal” incident from the Spanish Football Federation and will then consider further action.
He said in a statement on the club’s website, fcbarcelona.com: “If, once this documentation has been analysed, the club understands that an error was made in the revision of the incident, we will take all available measures to reverse the situation, without discounting, obviously, any necessary legal action.
“If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, we will move ahead and we do not discount requesting that the game be replayed, just as has happened in another game in Europe due to a VAR error.”
Laporta was referring to a decision to replay a Belgian Pro League between Anderlecht and Genk because of a VAR error earlier this season.
Real went on to win the match 3-2 with a stoppage-time winner from Jude Bellingham and are now 11 points clear of Barca at the top of the table.
Football rumours: Five clubs in the race to sign Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise
Five clubs are in the race to sign Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise, Football Insider reports, with Arsenal and Manchester United joining Manchester City, Juventus and Chelsea. The 22-year-old has scored seven goals in 14 games for Palace this season.
The Sun says Barcelona have joined Arsenal in the fight for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak with the Spanish club hoping to strike a deal with the Magpies for a player reported to be valued at around £90million. The 24-year-old Sweden international has scored 17 goals in 24 Premier League games for Newcastle this season.
Meanwhile, the credentials of Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag will be assessed by new technical director Jason Wilcox as the club decides on the Dutchman’s future, according to the Telegraph, while the same outlet says former Wolvers manager Julen Lopetegui is a contender to replace David Moyes at West Ham.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchViktor Gyokeres: The 25-year-old Sporting Lisbon striker is Arsenal’s top target as the Gunners prepare to make several signings this summer, Football Transfers reports.
Wilfred Ndidi: Crystal Palace are interested in the Leicester midfielder who is available for a free transfer this summer, according to Talksport.
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