Premier League explains controversial VAR decision as Tottenham collapses against Crystal Palace

Tottenham fell apart in the first half against Crystal Palace, with Micky van de Ven getting sent off after conceding a penalty and Ismaila Sarr running riot in North London

Tottenham manager Igor Tudor.(Image: Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)

Some Premier League supporters believed Crystal Palace was "robbed" of a goal against Tottenham after Ismaila Sarr saw a strike ruled out for the narrowest of offsides.

The assistant referee did not raise his flag before Sarr's deflected strike looped up over Guglielmo Vicario and into the far corner. However, following a VAR review, Sarr's opener at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was overturned, and replays revealed Sarr's forehead was the sole part of his body that had strayed beyond the last defender, Liverpool-linked Micky van de Ven.

The Premier League Match Centre posted on X: "VAR checked the referee's call of goal and established that Sarr was in an offside position and recommended that the goal was disallowed."

But co-commentator and former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart remarked on TNT Sports: "None of it looks right. Is that what we're going with? His face was offside?"

Lead commentator Sam Matterface added: "Oliver Glasner is saying his nose is offside! Talk about by the finest of margins. Offside by a nose."

Hart then joked: "I know a few people who would have been given offside in that situation!"

Sarr did not celebrate after scoring, having apparently been conscious of how marginal the decision was.

However, just how tight the offside actually proved sparked fury on social media, with neutrals asserting Palace was "robbed" given only an inch of Sarr's face was actually beyond Van de Ven.

In a frantic opening period, Spurs edged ahead moments later courtesy of Dominic Solanke. However, Spurs undermined themselves as Van de Ven received his marching orders for hauling down Sarr by the shirt five minutes following Solanke's strike, conceding a penalty in the process.

The Senegalese forward converted from 12 yards to restore parity for Palace, with the VAR determining that the penalty and the red card were the right call.

Matters deteriorated further for Igor Tudor's side, though. Jorgen Strand Larsen fired Palace into a 2-1 advantage against the depleted Spurs just two minutes into added time in the first half. And before the break, Sarr claimed his brace to essentially seal the contest.

Resounding jeers accompanied the half-time whistle, while some Spurs fans were even captured by TNT departing the ground at the interval. With the north London club poised to endure a fifth consecutive Premier League loss, merely one point will divide them and West Ham in the drop zone.

The Hammers have secured two victories and two draws in their previous five outings, by comparison, to intensify the scrutiny on Spurs. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest also salvaged a vital late point away at Manchester City in a 2-2 stalemate at the Etihad on Wednesday evening.

Both West Ham and Forest sit on 28 points, whilst Spurs have just 29 points from 29 matches. Tottenham has not secured a Premier League victory in 2026, with this set to be their 11th consecutive top-flight winless game.