Former referee Mark Clattenburg shares why Joelinton was spared a red card after fiery moment last night
Tottenham Hotspur were left furious with referee Chris Kavanagh after crashing out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park. The loss not only ended Spurs’ hopes of lifting silverware this season but also left them fuming at what they perceived to be a serious officiating error in the build-up to Newcastle’s opening goal.
The Magpies secured a comfortable passage to the quarter-finals, where they will meet Fulham on December 16/17, thanks to goals from Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade in each half. However, it was Schar’s first-half header that sparked controversy and ignited Tottenham’s anger toward the referee.
In the 23rd minute, Newcastle won a corner, and referee Chris Kavanagh initially paused the game to allow Spurs defender Djed Spence to put his boot back on after it had come off. But what frustrated Tottenham was that, moments after Spence finished tying his laces, Kavanagh allowed Sandro Tonali to take the corner immediately—without giving the defender time to regain his marking position.
Tonali’s delivery was met perfectly by Schar, who headed home the opener — ironically, the very player Spence was meant to be marking. The situation left Spurs players incensed, with Richarlison and several teammates surrounding the referee to protest. Head coach Thomas Frank didn’t hold back after the match, calling the referee’s handling of the situation “a clear mistake” and suggesting it played a decisive role in the outcome.
“Yeah, I think that was clear,” Frank said post-match. “We conceded two goals because of two mistakes, and unfortunately, the referee was part of the first one. His boot was completely off — you can see that clearly on the footage — so Djed needed time to put it back on and tie his laces. It wasn’t like we were trying to waste time or disrupt the flow of the game. It was just common sense to allow him to get back into position.”
The Danish boss continued:
“As soon as he had his boot on, the referee just let play go. And to make it worse, the player Djed was supposed to mark — Schar — scored the goal. That’s why we were so animated on the touchline. It was a huge decision that went against us, and in a cup tie like this, those small margins can decide everything. The second goal was our own mistake, but the first one shouldn’t have stood.”
Despite Frank’s frustration, not everyone agreed with his assessment. Former Newcastle and Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand, speaking on ITV Sport, suggested Spurs only had themselves to blame and should have handled the situation more intelligently.
“You can see [Pedro] Porro raising his hand trying to get the referee’s attention,” Ferdinand explained. “In that situation, you’ve got to be clever — go stand on the ball, slow things down, make the referee come over to you. What you can’t do is expect him to stop the game just because your teammate is tying his boot. That’s naïve.”
The night went from bad to worse for Tottenham late on when tempers flared in stoppage time. A reckless challenge by Joelinton on Mohammed Kudus sparked a heated confrontation, with Xavi Simons, Dan Burn, and Aaron Ramsdale all rushing in to intervene. Ramsdale sprinted the length of the pitch to help calm his teammates as the scuffle escalated.
Both Joelinton and Kudus received yellow cards — the Brazilian for his late tackle and the Ghanaian for his fiery reaction, which included shoving Joelinton in the chest. However, the decision to book both players equally drew criticism from former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg, who argued that the punishments were not proportionate to their actions.
“It doesn’t feel fair that Joelinton and Kudus got the same punishment,” Clattenburg told TBR Football. “Joelinton’s tackle was reckless and scissored his opponent, but it lacked the force or malice required for a red card. Still, Kudus’ yellow for reacting after being fouled seems harsh — he was the one on the receiving end.”
The result leaves Tottenham facing renewed scrutiny after another disappointing cup exit. For Thomas Frank, it was an evening filled with frustration — not only over his team’s performance but also over officiating decisions that, in his view, tilted the contest away from fairness. Meanwhile, Newcastle march on to the quarter-finals, continuing their strong cup form under Eddie Howe and deepening Tottenham’s search for consistency in a season that continues to swing between promise and disappointment.