Sky Sports release damning footage after major Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur controversy
Sky Sports have unveiled remarkable footage highlighting a bizarre moment during Newcastle United’s 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur, where defender Djed Spence took an astonishing 46.5 seconds to tie his laces — just moments before Fabian Schär opened the scoring at St James’ Park.
The sequence unfolded midway through the first half as Newcastle pressed for an opener. Sandro Tonali’s precise corner delivery found Schär rising highest to nod home, putting the Magpies in front. However, Tottenham’s frustration stemmed not from the quality of the goal, but from the unusual circumstances that preceded it.
As the footage shows, Spence had momentarily lost his footing and needed to retie his boot, which had come undone during a defensive sequence. The right-back crouched near the six-yard box, focusing on his laces as referee Chris Kavanagh allowed play to continue. Within seconds, Tonali whipped in the corner and Schär’s header nestled into the back of the net — leaving Spurs’ defence completely unprepared and head coach Thomas Frank furious on the touchline.
Speaking after the match, Frank was visibly frustrated by what he considered a lapse in officiating and a lack of basic fairness.
“We conceded two goals because of two mistakes,” he said. “Unfortunately, the referee was part of the mistake for the first goal. You can clearly see on the footage that Djed’s boot came off — he had to fix it. It’s not like we were wasting time or leading the game. Common sense says you allow him a few seconds to get his boot back on. To make matters worse, it’s his man who scores. That’s why we were so animated.”
Following the match, Sky Sports ran a detailed analysis of the incident, complete with a stopwatch that confirmed Spence spent 46.5 seconds tying his laces before play resumed. The broadcaster’s pundit Jobi McAnuff expressed sympathy for Tottenham, calling the decision to proceed “harsh” and suggesting the officials lacked awareness of the game’s context.
“This was the big incident,” McAnuff explained. “You can see Spence take his boot off — the referee gives him about 30 seconds, then says, ‘That’s enough, play on.’ I think that’s harsh. His position is exactly where that ball ends up being delivered. For me, the referee should’ve given him a few more seconds to reset.”
McAnuff went on to add that better communication between the officials could have prevented the controversy.
“The linesman was right there,” he said. “A simple radio message could’ve told the referee, ‘Give him another five or ten seconds.’ It’s a tough one, but I have to be honest — I think Spurs were unlucky.”
For Newcastle, the moment epitomized their intensity and awareness. Schär, who benefited most from the decision, admitted he had no idea Spence was still tying his boots when the corner was taken.
“I didn’t know that was a rule — that you have to wait for someone to do their laces,” Schär laughed in his post-match interview. “I didn’t even see where he was. We were just focused on executing what we’d worked on in training. The delivery from Sandro [Tonali] was perfect.”
In the end, the incident proved costly for Spurs, who never recovered from the early blow. Newcastle controlled the tempo, adding a second goal later in the game to seal their passage to the next round. For Tottenham, however, the night will be remembered not just for the defeat, but for one of the strangest goals conceded in recent memory — one that hinged on 46.5 seconds and an untied shoelace.