Antonio Conte: Premier League officials need to be more like Serie A
Spurs right-back Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card by Anthony Taylor in the second half for a tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte says referees and VAR officials are letting the Premier League down, adding that England could follow Italy’s example to improve standards.
Conte was speaking after his side’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby on Saturday. Spurs right-back Emerson Royal was shown a straight red card by Anthony Taylor in the second half for a tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.
The Tottenham boss, who initially said he did not want to comment on the decision, went on to say that the standard of officiating is not good enough.
“In England, I have to be honest, it is very difficult because there isn’t the same line,” he said.
“Sometimes you see a situation that could be a red card and instead is a yellow card or no yellow card, sometimes you see a situation that is a yellow card and you see a red card.
“They have to work a lot about this. In Italy, they go on Thursday and stay together for three days to work together, to look at the video and try and improve.
“I don’t know if they do that in this country but it would be a good idea because the level is so high and we need the level of the referee and VAR the same.
“The Premier League is a really high level and for this reason, every part of this situation has to be top.
“Honestly, for sure the player is frustrated because he knows what happened, he knows the difficulty we had after the red card. It can happen.
“Emerson is a young player, he is only 23, I think he has to try and exploit this situation to be better and in the next situation avoid totally the tackle.
“Honestly, the player was really surprised, not only him but all of the players.”
Arsenal extend lead at the top
The Gunners moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table after goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka gave them a deserved victory at the Emirates Stadium.
They opened the scoring through a fine Partey strike from 25 yards. After Harry Kane scored his 14th goal in 18 north London derbies from the spot, Mikel Arteta’s side upped the ante.
Jesus put the home side ahead after a poor Hugo Lloris mistake and moments after Emerson’s red card, Xhaka killed the game with a left-footed finish.