Former Premier League referee Graham Barber believes VAR were spot on to suggest Michael Olvier send Jean-Philippe Mateta off early on in the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

Spurs picked up their third win on the spin to move into the top half of the Premier League table, with goals from Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke securing a dominant victory.

The home side were in control before the early red card, which no doubt gave them an even bigger helping hand, although it did mean the Eagles put all ten remaining players behind the ball, giving Tottenham a new low-block opposition to tackle.

Maybe now we are not ready yet to play against one low block so close, so aggressive, in so small spaces. And it’s not easy for the top team, maybe for us in this moment, maybe in two, three months we can reach the right level to play better against one low block. But now it’s very tough - Roberto De Zerbi on the Palace result

There were 13 minutes on the clock when Mateta, chasing a ball forward over the halfway line, slid in on Spurs captain Micky van de Ven, who was getting back to challenge him, and ran his studs down the back of the Tottenham star's Achilles.

Referee Michael Oliver initially brandished a yellow card, but after a VAR intervention, he upgraded the card to red.

Former top flight referee Barber delivered his verdict on the decision, saying it was the right call to upgrade the foul to red.

Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, Barber said: "I think it was the right decision.

"And I think I'll just jump on the bandwagon with everybody else and say why did he do it?

"Thirteen minutes into the game, in a pretty innocuous position on the field of play, no danger at all, and then you launch yourself into the back of a defender for no reason at all, and I mean he launched himself into the back of the player, and I think that's the difference between the earlier one we were talking about [Trey Nyoni foul on Martin Odegaard] today and that.

"I think the referee, when he sees that, would think that's a foul, but when you actually see it, you know, it's clearly a dangerous challenge which endangers the safety of the opponent."