#7 Controversial decisions
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(a) Referee Neil Swarbrick gave Chelsea a massive breather when he missed Cesar Azpilicueta’s handball in the box while taking on Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Blues’ man had his arms outstretched and the ball certainly made contact with his arm in an unnatural position. We have seen softer penalties given and with the tie level at 1-1, this decision could have swung the momentum in favour of the visitors.
(b) Craig Pawson proved to be inconsistent in his refereeing as he awarded a penalty to Watford for Cheikhou Kouyate’s lean-in on Mauro Zarate in the box but failed to point to the spot for an identical offence by M'Baye Niang. The official’s error could have changed the result in favour of West Ham as the game ended in a draw.
(c) Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross had his right hand in the air as it made contact with the ball in the box late in the second half. Fortunately for Spurs, it did not affect the end result as Mauricio Pochettino’s side were leading the Potters by 4 goals at the time.
(d) Steve Cook could have seen red for his blatant foul on Salomon Rondon as he made no attempt to play the ball but just crossed over onto Rondon’s path and shoulder-challenged him when the Brom striker was the last man. Mark Clattenburg though, surprisingly, chose to ignore the offence despite consulting with his assistant.
(e) Robert Madley could have awarded two potential penalties to Crystal Palace but completely missed the offences. Daniel Ayala leant into Wilfried Zaha and brought him down near the edge of the touchline while James McArthur was booked for diving when it was crystal clear that Stewart Downing brought the Eagles man down with a clumsy trailing leg.
