There were plenty of football fans are calling for Dele Alli to be banned yesterday, after they claimed he “dived” to win a penalty in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 Premier League win at Burnley. The England international had a couple of very controversial plays yesterday.
Alli went down on the Turf Moor grass pretty easily under a Kevin Long challenge in the area, and referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot. Super scoring sensation Harry Kane stepped up and converted the subsequent spot-kick to give Tottenham the lead.
Many fans felt this was a dive, but former Premier League referee Graham Poll claimed Alli had been fouled and the decision was fair, while making an appearance on BT Sport. Steven Gerrard, also doing television commentating work yesterday, agreed that the official’s call in this situation was indeed the right one.
Alli escaped booking for this incident, and he will not be receive any disciplinary action after the fact.
Additionally, Alli put in a controversial challenge on Burnley’s Charlie Taylor within the opening minutes. He went to the ground early and could have received a red card from Oliver, in the eyes of some.
However, the Spurs midfielder was able to stay on the field and upon further review the next day, it is confirmed that he will not face any retrospective disciplinary action.
While Dele Alli certainly had a controversial day in which he played within the grey areas, Gerrard was full of praise for the youngster’s performance.
“Tottenham were good today, they were back, and it was the reaction that the manager needed – especially after last week’s mauling that they got against City,” the Liverpool legend told BT Sport.
“I thought Dele Alli epitomized that. I know people talk about the challenge but sometimes you need a collision or challenge like that to get everyone going. I thought he was tremendous today.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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