West Brom 0 Tottenham 1: Goran Popov in spitting storm as Gareth Bale gives Spurs win
Macedonian sending off turns game in visitors' favour
Sunday 03 February 2013
Printable
EmailFootball: West Brom found themselves mired in further controversy today following the sending off of Goran Popov for spitting at Kyle Walker during their home defeat at the hands of Tottenham.
Spurs are now unbeaten in nine league matches as Gareth Bale’s 18-yard strike — his 11th league goal of the season — midway through the second half secured all three points for the Londoners.
But following the fiasco surrounding Peter Odemwingie’s on-off move to QPR on transfer deadline day, Baggies manager Steve Clarke probably could have done with an incident-free 90 minutes.
It was the sending off of Popov just after half-time that changed the whole complexion of the game and will once again bring unwanted publicity to the Midlands club.
In a moment of madness the Macedonian spat in the direction of Walker after he had exchanged words with the England full-back following some sloppy defending just outside the Albion box.
“There is no excuse for that, there is no place for that. There is no place for it in life never mind on a football pitch,” said an angry Clarke after the game.
“I haven’t had a one-to-one discussion with Goran. We spoke about it after the game as a group. I’d like to think at some stage he will apologise.
“As always there will be disciplinary procedures taken against him, but they’ll remain in-house as always,” he concluded.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
