Newcastle, England – Thomas Frank, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, has criticized referee Chris Kavanagh following his team's 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. The defeat, which took place at St James' Park on October 29, 2025, ended Tottenham's unbeaten run away from home.

The controversy arose from Newcastle's opening goal, scored by Fabian Schar from a corner in the first half. Prior to the corner being taken, Tottenham defender Djed Spence was in the process of tying his bootlaces after his boot had come off. While Spence was occupied, Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali initially appeared to allow Spence time to get ready. However, Tonali then proceeded to take the corner, finding Schar, who headed the ball into the net.

Frank expressed his frustration, stating that the referee showed a lack of "common sense". He argued that Spence should have been given adequate time to regain his defensive position before the corner was taken. Frank said, "I think for me, we conceded two goals because of two mistakes. Unfortunately, the ref was part of the mistake in the first one. I'm not saying there's things we can't do better, but his boot is off, we need to tie his shoelace and tie his boot".

He further emphasized the importance of the situation, pointing out that it occurred early in the game. "And you can clearly see on the footage afterwards that the whole boot is off, so we need to do it. And it's minute 23, it's not like we delayed the game for one minute and we have one goal up. It's common sense to allow him time to get in. So as soon as he had the boot on, the ref let it go".

Adding to Frank's frustration, he revealed that Spence was supposed to be marking Schar on the corner. "To make it perfect, Djed's man he had to mark was Schar, that scored," Frank said. "So that's why we were very animated".

While Frank acknowledged that his team could have performed better, he was particularly unhappy with the circumstances surrounding the first goal. Tottenham players also protested the referee's decision on the field.

The second goal saw Antonin Kinsky miss a cross, allowing Nick Woltemade to score. Frank admitted his side were to blame for the second goal.