If Tottenham are relegated this season – few refereeing decisions will be cursed more by their fans than Brian Brobbey escaping a red card.
Sunderland edged out Spurs 1-0 but should have played the last 30 minutes a man down, according to the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel.
Brobbey was on a yellow card and shoved Cristian Romero with two hands in the back, causing him to collide with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and suffer a season-ending knee injury.
Romero, the club captain, came off the pitch in tears and Brobbey escaped a second booking.
Referee Rob Jones gave a foul against the Sunderland striker but did not deem his shove worthy of caution.
His decision was voted 3:2 to be a mistake when judged by the KMI panel.
Brian Brobbey (left) should have been shown a second yellow card for shoving Cristian Romero into Antonin Kinsky, causing the defender a season-ending injury
Their conclusion was: ‘There is a two-handed push which is an unnecessarily reckless action.’
VAR is not allowed to intervene for missed second yellow card cautions and is limited to assessing potential straight reds. From next season VAR will also be allowed to review a second yellow card if a player has been sent off on-field.
Interestingly, Jones has incorrectly failed to show a second yellow card on five occasions this season, more than any other official and there have been 12 such incidents in total.
There have been 42 of those calls in the last two seasons and the 39-year-old has been culpable for 10 of them.
The Brobbey incident took place in the 63rd minute of the game against Spurs, shortly after Nordi Mukiele had given the hosts the lead.
But the visitors were denied the chance to play against 10 men and potentially rescue a result that could have proved vital in their fight for survival.
Spurs are currently 18th in the table, two points behind West Ham and face an enormous struggle to avoid a humiliating relegation to the Championship.
