James Trafford had a difficult first half on his Manchester City home debut as Tottenham led 2-0 at half-time through Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha. Trafford's misplaced pass allowed Pape Matar Sarr to win possession and Palhinha to score. Earlier, Trafford sprinted from his box to confront Mohammed Kudus, appeared to handle the ball outside the 18-yard area and caught Kudus high on the chest with his knee, leaving Kudus injured. No free-kick or card followed. PGMOL judged VAR did not need to intervene because Trafford's hands were by his side and his body was close to the play. Handling outside the box is not an automatic red; referees consider DOGSO, distance, direction and nearby defenders.
Moments after Spurs took a 1-0 lead, Trafford sprinted out of his box as winger Mohammed Kudus raced in on goal. After Kudus controlled with his chest, Trafford appeared to handle the ball outside his 18-yard box and caught the Ghana international high on the chest with his knee. Kudus laid injured on the pitch as City regained possession but a free-kick was not awarded to Spurs and Trafford went unpunished.
Firstly, after the referee saw no offence on the field, the incident was not reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee. While all incidents are looked at in the VAR room, only those deemed worthy of an intervention are reviewed by the on-field referee. BBC Sport understands that PGMOL, the Premier League refereeing body, felt there was not a case for the VAR to intervene as Trafford's hands were down by his side and because of the proximity of his body to the incident.
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