Tottenham manager Igor Tudor accused Raul Jimenez of “cheating” for Harry Wilson’s goal and criticized the “ridiculous” decision by officials to allow Fulham the lead in their 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.
Jimenez had his hands on Radu Dragusin’s back as the pair challenged for the ball in the build-up to Wilson’s seventh-minute opener.
However, after a VAR check, the goal was deemed by officials to have “not met the criteria for a foul”.
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Harry Wilson scores early against Spurs despite Raul Jimenez pushing Radu Dragusin in the build-up
The decision came a week after Gunners defender Gabriel collapsed after receiving a similar push from Randall Kolo Muani in Spurs’ 4-1 defeat to Arsenal, resulting in a goal being canceled and the game tied at 2-2.
The West London call-up left Tudor furious as they fell into a fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League, further increasing relegation fears.
“Of course it was a foul. I think 99 out of 100 people would have said it was a foul. It’s very clear,” he said of Fulham’s opener in the post-match press conference.
“Sometimes the standards are inconsistent. It was the same thing last week against Arsenal. It was the same situation before. We conceded a goal, they gave away a foul and then they didn’t get a foul. It’s really unbelievable.”
Tottenham players protest after Harry Wilson scores first goal at Craven Cottage
He added: “They don’t understand that sometimes even a small contact is enough to give them an advantage in scoring a goal. We need to stop this.”
“Whether he’s soft or not has nothing to do with normal duels. If he doesn’t see the ball and pushes it with his hands, it can easily give him an advantage.
“It’s stupid not to give a foul because the consequences are too big. It’s not a small foul in the middle of the pitch. It’s the goal after that. There’s a logic to it.”
“The great thing about the referee is to keep playing here. Let’s have a strong duel. That’s great. I like it. But there is logic. If the goal went in his favor without thinking about the football, then he wasn’t thinking about the ball. He (Jiménez) was thinking about how to deceive.”
“So he cheated, the player pushed, and they scored a goal. So, it’s logic. Cheating and then there’s a foul. It’s not about duels, and the football here is tougher and we like duels. There’s nothing to it. So there was no logic in this decision. Logic is more important than anything. Then other things come.”
Tudor questions lack of running and fighting in Fulham defeat
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Premier League highlights of Fulham vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Tudor endured a difficult start to his time at Spurs, becoming only the second Tottenham manager to lose their first two games in charge.
The defeat in west London left Spurs 16th in the table, four points above them, but Tudor “didn’t want to talk about relegation”.
Instead, the Croatian focused on criticizing his team’s lack of running, quality and defense.
“It’s a complicated situation. There are many issues. I can’t say anything new. We need to find the strength within each of us. I told the players, that’s what you always try to do. What do you want to do with yourself? Be more individual. Before you react, you want to do more. A lot.”
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Alex Iwobi and Harry Wilson team up to score Fulham’s stunning goal against Spurs in the Premier League
“We’re missing when we attack. We’re missing the quality to score goals. We’re missing the middle to run. We’re missing the back to stay there and struggle and not concede goals. It’s a great situation.”
He added: “The situation was complicated because we know how many players are coming back. One situation is that we have a complete team to choose from. One situation is that we can’t choose because we have to choose quality to score goals. We need quality players to score goals, otherwise we can’t defend all the time.”
“But when we’re in a bad situation, we bring in guys and they lack the defense, the running ability, the ability to win duels. So what do we do? That’s the big question going forward: choosing what’s right for this team. Finding the formula, who we want to be, what we can be in this moment.”
“So it’s very difficult to understand, because you can get the quality, but football is also a sport of running and dueling. It feels like the Fulham players always got there first. Even with the brains, they got there before us. They predict – we’re always late.”
Spurs match before March international break
Thursday: Crystal Palace (H) – Premier League, 8pm kick-off
March 10: Atletico Madrid (A) – Champions League last-16 first leg, kick-off at 8pm
March 15: Liverpool (A) – Premier League, 4.30pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
March 18: Atletico Madrid (H) – Champions League last 16 second leg, 8pm kick-off
March 22: Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League, 2.15pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports
