WHY JAMIE CARRAGHER SAYS FULHAM’S "SOFT" PENALTY EXPOSED A MASSIVE VAR CONSPIRACY
Jamie Carragher blasts VAR for awarding Fulham a "soft" penalty while ignoring William Saliba’s foul on Thierno Barry.
Jamie Carragher couldn't believe Fulham got a penalty against Nottingham Forest while Everton didn't get one against Arsenal. He thinks Everton's boss, David Moyes, probably feels the same way.
Fulham won their game 1-0 thanks to a penalty scored by Raul Jiminez after Douglas Luiz of Forest was called for a foul on Fulham's Kevin. Carragher, watching the game, said the foul on Kevin wasn't as bad as when Arsenal's William Saliba appeared to clip Everton's Thierno Barry in the box on Saturday.
Even though it looked like Saliba kicked Barry, VAR didn't award a penalty. Arsenal ended up winning 1-0 with a penalty from Viktor Gyokeres.
Carragher, who used to play for David Moyes, said the Fulham penalty seemed a bit soft. Luiz was on the ground trying to clear the ball, and he just happened to make contact with Kevin. It's hard to say the ref was wrong, but it felt like a weak call. Since Luiz didn't get the ball, he can't really argue. But it reminded me of what happened with Arsenal and Everton.
If I were David Moyes, I'd be wondering how we didn't get a penalty. Luiz was on the ground, trying to flick the ball away, so he couldn't have put much force into it. Saliba, on the other hand, was trying to boot the ball as far as possible from his own goal.
Saliba put way more power behind his challenge, which you'd expect from a defender. That's what made it different from the Luiz situation.
Neither player got the ball, but the attackers got there first. So, I don't get how the calls can be so different. The Saliba challenge looked much more like a penalty to me than the one Fulham got.
When Moyes was asked about the incident after the match, he said, "I think we've seen penalties given when someone gets kicked in the foot or back." It was on his Achilles, actually.
Nothing much was happening at the time. Saliba went in, Thierno got his foot in first and kicked the ball away, and then Saliba ended up kicking through Barry.
You'd all probably agree that we could have been given a penalty. VAR must not have thought it was enough to send the ref to the screen.
BRUNO SALTOR OFFICIALLY JOINS TOTTENHAM AS ASSISTANT COACH FOR THE NORTH LONDON DERBY
Tottenham appoints Bruno Saltor! Discover the new coaching team under Igor Tudor and the departures following Thomas Frank's exit.
Tottenham Hotspur just shook up their coaching staff, bringing in Bruno Saltor, a guy who’s worked with Chelsea and West Ham in the past.
Saltor’s stepping in alongside interim boss Igor Tudor until the season wraps up. Spurs let go of Thomas Frank earlier this month, and, like Manchester United, they’ve decided to go with a temporary setup for now and figure out the bigger picture in the summer.
Tudor, who’s managed clubs like Marseille, Lazio, and Juventus, is set to take charge for the first time this weekend in the North London derby against Arsenal. Saltor will be in the dugout for his first Spurs match, too.
If you’ve followed Saltor’s career, you might know he’s often worked with Graham Potter. That’s how he ended up at both Chelsea and West Ham. When Potter left Chelsea in 2023, Saltor took over as interim head coach. His one match in charge ended in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool. Frank Lampard replaced him soon after, and Saltor stayed on as part of the coaching staff until Mauricio Pochettino arrived, at which point he moved on. He later reunited with Potter at West Ham but left when Potter did in September.
Tottenham’s official statement confirmed the news: “Following the arrival of Igor Tudor as Head Coach until the end of the season, we can now confirm the appointment of three additional coaches to our Men’s First Team coaching staff. We welcome Bruno Saltor as Igor's assistant coach." Born in El Masnou, Spain, Saltor started his playing career in his home country before joining Brighton in 2012. He made 235 appearances there over seven years, then moved into coaching with the Seagulls after retiring in 2019. Since then, he’s picked up experience at Chelsea and West Ham.
Along with Saltor’s appointment, Spurs also announced some departures. Justin Cochrane, John Heitinga, and Chris Haslam are all leaving the coaching staff after Frank’s exit. The club thanked them for their efforts and wished them well.
GLASNER OUT? CRYSTAL PALACE CONSIDERING IMMEDIATE EXIT FOR BOSS AFTER DISMAL EUROPEAN DRAW
Oliver Glasner’s exit is imminent! Discover why Robbie Keane has emerged as the favorite to lead Crystal Palace out of crisis.
Oliver Glasner was supposed to stick around at Crystal Palace until the end of the season. That was the plan, anyway. But after another rough run of results, his exit could come a lot sooner.
Thursday night in Bosnia should’ve been nothing special, just a routine first leg against a team Palace should handle easily, with the real test back at Selhurst Park next week. Instead, a 1-1 draw against Zrinjski Mostar turned into another mess in a season that’s gotten uglier by the week for Glasner and Palace.
The travelling fans didn’t hide how they felt.
Palace have only managed one win in their last 15 games. That’s not a blip; it’s a full-on collapse, and it looks like Glasner’s time might be up even faster than everyone thought.
People at the top of the club have started openly asking if letting Glasner finish out his contract is actually hurting more than helping. He said back in January that he’d leave when his deal was up in the summer, but with results falling off a cliff and morale at rock bottom, those discussions have picked up speed.
Word is, Palace have already started looking for Glasner’s replacement, planning for a summer hire. But now, it looks like they might bring in his successor right away.
One name has shot straight to the top of the list: Robbie Keane.
TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook says Palace are considering Keane as a short-term fix if Glasner goes before the season ends. Keane’s reputation has soared lately. He won the Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Tel Aviv, then took the Hungarian league title in his first season at Ferencváros.
His win rate at Maccabi was over 73 per cent. He’s also done time as an assistant coach at Leeds and Middlesbrough. People who’ve played for him, like Ireland’s Callum O’Dowda, rave about him. O’Dowda said, “As soon as he opens his mouth, you want to listen. It’s phenomenal, really. On the coaching side,e he has been good.”
For now, Keane is still in charge at Ferencvaros, who are still in the Europa League, so prying him away won’t be simple.
Palace sit 13th in the Premier League, eight points clear of the relegation zone, but that gap feels less safe with every week they fail to win.
Tottenham even considered Keane as an interim manager before they went with Igor Tudor.