Tottenham vs Liverpool ref watch: Three decisions John Brooks got horribly wrong

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Credit: Imago Sat 20 December 2025 19:45, UK John Brooks was unable to stop emotions bubbling over as Tottenham and Liverpool clashed in a fiery Premier League game on Saturday.Xavi Simons was sent off for his challenge on Virgil van Dijk in the first half, a moment which set the tone on 20 December, before Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike got on the scoresheet.Despite Richarlison being linked with a Tottenham exit, it was the Brazilian who breathed life into the home side, scoring in the 83rd minute before Cristian Romero got himself sent off.With five yellow cards and two red cards dished out, the referee had plenty of work to do, with a few decisions slipping through the cracks, which will have been picked up in the stadium.Djed Spence rightly fuming as John Brooks is trickedIn the opening 20 minutes, some smart play had meant that Djed Spence found some space in Liverpool’s penalty area, but after trying to shift the ball onto his left, Conor Bradley had gotten back.The Spurs defender had barely touched his opponent when Brooks blew his whistle, but with Bradley losing his footing, the referee clearly felt the need to award a free-kick. MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Spence nearly kicked off in retaliation, doing well to keep hold of the ball, rather than throw it away, but it was a very frustrating end to a positive attack.John Brooks somehow needs VAR to send off Xavi SimonsSimons caught his international counterpart extremely high on the calf, with those watching replays pretty certain that a straight red card was going to be awarded.Credit: IMAGOBrooks decided to go with an initial yellow, but after being advised to go to the pitch-side monitor, the 22-year-old was given his marching orders, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.The most baffling part was that a yellow card was shown in the first place.Richarlison gets away with a clear elbow on Jeremie FrimpongJeremie Frimpong was left on the turf with blood pouring out of his mouth, with replays showing an elbow from Richarlison, who got Spurs back into the game with a late goal.The full-back was absolutely fuming, and rightly so, having to be replaced in case his emotions bubbled over.

It was smart thinking from Arne Slot.This is not to say that the Brazilian should have been shown a red card, because it did seem slightly accidental, but a sanction would not have been out of the question.