Benitez rages at officials after Spurs defeat

Rafa Benitez was furious with referee Phil Dowd and his fourth official after Liverpool had two late penalty appeals turned down in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.

Rafa Benitez was furious with referee Phil Dowd and his fourth official after Liverpool had two late penalty appeals turned down in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Sunday.

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Benitez watched in frustration as Dowd ruled that a Fernando Torres cross which hit Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the arm was not a spot-kick minutes after he had already turned down Liverpool appeals for Assou-Ekotto's barge on Andriy Voronin. “The second decision was especially bad, the first one you can excuse but the second was hand to ball,” Benitez said.

“For the fourth official, he is a young referee and maybe he has to calm down. He is young. We were not comfortable in possession in the first half.”