'He Tried To Fool The Referee' - Ex-Tottenham Coach On Penalty Incident Involving Southampton's Tella

Published: February 23, 2021

Three second half goals from Patrick Bamford, Stuart Dallas and Raphinha earned Leeds United a 3-0 win over Southampton at Elland Road on Tuesday evening.

Having played as a substitute in his seven previous Premier League appearances, Nigerian Federation target Nathan Tella was handed his full top-flight debut by manager Ralph Hasenhüttl and the winger lasted 58 minutes on the turf

There were not many clear-cut opportunities in the first half but plenty of drama.

The Saints players were not happy with the performance of referee Andre Marriner, who officiated their last league win, in the first half.

In the 36th minute, Tella drove into the penalty area and was deemed to have been brought down by Llorente and Marriner awarded Southampton a penalty but it was rightly overturned by the video assistant referee.

The Saints also put the ball in the net from a subsequent free-kick only for the referee to say that he hadn't blown the whistle and the goal wouldn't count.

Reviewing the penalty incident involving Tella at half-time, former Tottenham Hotspur coach Tim Sherwood praised the VAR for overturning the decision, adding that the former Arsenal schoolboy was lucky to escape a booking for simulation.

"I think it's a good decision, this is VAR working exactly right," Sherwood said on Premier League Productions.

"I was disappointed he never got a booking because he obviously tried to fool the referee there and he's managed to do it.

"The people upstairs, VAR right on it and he didn't get away with it."

Tella's progress with Southampton this season is being monitored by manager Gernot Rohr's chief scout in England, Tunde Adelakun with a view to a potential call-up to the Super Eagles.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : leedsunited.com

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