The Premier League has now issued a statement via its official match centre, explaining why Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal against Tottenham wasn’t allowed to stand during their 0-0 draw on Saturday afternoon.
Nottingham Forest thought they had taken the lead against their guests in the 67th minute when the midfielder headed the ball beyond Antonin Kinsky following a mix-up in the box, adding insult to injury to their opponents’ worrying start to the campaign.
Blushes were then spared for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, as Andrew Robertson applauded the VAR’s intervention to disallow the opener – in turn, allowing the Lilywhites to earn their first point of the season following a busy summer that ranked them among the biggest-spenders and saw expectations skyrocket.
Why Morgan Gibbs-White’s Goal was Disallowed vs Tottenham
While the scramble in the box didn’t appear to hide anything too major to the naked eye, replays showed that there was a handball in the lead-up to Gibbs-White’s headed goal. In a statement, the Premier League has now explained (see below):
“67’ VAR OVERTURN. VAR checked the referee’s call of goal to Nottingham Forest – and determined that Williams handled the ball immediately before scoring and recommended that the goal was disallowed.
“REF: ‘After review, the ball touches the hand of Nottingham Forest No.3 before the goal is scored. The final decision is a direct free-kick for Spurs’.”
In the end, it was a rather dull affair in the Midlands, with Forest registering the only shot on target in the match. Tottenham’s second-half substitutes – including loan signing Mykhailo Mudryk – failed to inspire them, despite boasting a lion’s share of possession.
Tottenham Searching For First League Victory of 2026/27 Season
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if there’s anything Tottenham fans have learnt following the first three matches of the season is that it’s going to take a lot longer than just a few weeks for their new-look team to click into gear.
In De Zerbi, they have one of the best managers in the world, but patience is clearly needed. Their biggest problem has been their attack, as they are yet to score in the league, despite thrashing Charlton 5-1 in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
Dominic Solanke was only able to feature for the last eight minutes, and it showed. Going into their next fixture against Everton at home, the Lilywhites will desperately need to find a way to turn their possession into shots that count. Their influx of new wingers have the ability to create, but nobody in the box is finishing them.
