Jamie Carragherbelieves the decision to award Newcastle United a second-half penalty against Tottenhamwas "harsh" and he was "surprised" it was given.
The Magpies appealed for a spot-kick in the 82nd minute after Dan Burn went down inside the box following a tussle with Rodrigo Bentancur. Referee Thomas Bramall initial waved away appeals, but was later advised to go to his pitch-side monitor to have a closer look at the incident again.
Following a short VAR check, Bramall overturned his decision and gave a penalty to Newcastle, judging that Bentancur fouled Burn in the area.
Announcing the conclusion to supporters inside the stadium, Bramall said: "After review, Tottenham number 30 makes a holding offence at the back post and clearly does not look at the ball. My final decision is penalty kick."
Delivering his verdict when Bramall went over to the VAR screen, Carragher told Sky Sports: "I am surprised by that... This would be harsh. At the end, he is trying to get away from Burn."
The Premier League soon released a statement to confirm the decision: "#NEWTOT – 82' VAR OVERTURNAfter VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of no penalty to Newcastle United."
Speaking post-match, Micah Richards said: "In terms of looking at the ball, that fits the criteria. But there is not enough holding there. Dan Burn is just too strong for him. Bentancur holds him for a little while, makes sure he can't get the run on him and then Burn is all over Bentancur.
"So, I don't understand. The referee made a really good decision in not giving it. VAR has put doubt in his mind and then he is going to have to give it."
Jamie Redknapp added: "Look at Dan Burn, he is not even complaining. He not once got up with any sort of aggression to say referee, 'what are you doing?' Is he holding him? Yes, possibly. But you see this week-in, week-out. Where is the consistency? We see this game in, game out."
Spurs boss Frank made his feelings clear and said: "It's never a penalty, we want the ref calls on the pitch, to support that, it can only be a clear and obvious mistake.
"It's never a penalty in my opinion, there are 10 of those a game."
Anthony Gordon was the man who stepped up from the spot and scored to give Newcastle a 2-1 lead, after Cristian Romero cancelled out Bruno Guimaraes' opener.
However, Tottenham managed to bounce back for a second time to level and secure a vital point in a 2-2 draw, with Romero completing his brace with a fine acrobatic effort.
The result leaves Spurs down in 11th on 19 points from their opening 14 league fixtures. However, Frank's men sit just five points behind third-place Chelsea in the table.
