An astonishing match at White Hart Lane was not only memorable for eight fantastic goals, but also for the latest horrendous tackle to blight Barclays Premier League football.

Mike Riley, the referee, was making his return to the middle having been rested for last weekend’s Premier League programme after criticism over his handling of the 1-1 draw between Fulham and Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, March 8.

His decision not to send off Ashley Cole, the Chelsea and England left back, for his studs-up lunge at Alan Hutton, the Tottenham Hotspur right back, is again unlikely to endear him to his employers given the climate surrounding dangerous tackles.

Cole’s challenge on a player who had already missed almost a year of football with a broken leg while playing with Rangers demanded a straight red card instead of the yellow leniently presented by Riley.

What was more astonishing was the reaction from some Chelsea players, including John Terry, the captain, in appearing to protest Cole’s innocence as they massed round the official. Nearby Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, came on to the pitch and Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, appeared to be becalmed by Steve Bennett, the fourth official.

Gustavo Poyet, the Tottenham assistant first-team coach, put his arm around Cole as the players walked down the tunnel and then spoke to Riley as he walked off. Ramos was more restrained after the match. “I just respect the decisions,” he said. “We’ve seen tackles which were much less serious which have earned red cards. We’re just very fortunate that there weren’t any injuries to any players, either Tottenham’s or Chelsea’s.”

Whether Chelsea will find themselves in hot water again with the FA this season remains to be seen. The club were fined £40,000 over the behaviour of their players in the match against Derby County at Pride Park in November. They were also fined £30,000 and warned about their future conduct after being charged with failing to control their players during the 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford in September.

“I didn’t see the incident as the assistant referee was in my way,” Grant said. “We need to respect his decision. The referee was two or three metres away.”

Respecting the decision or not, the incident will come under the spotlight in the coming days, especially after the fractured left fibula and dislocated ankle suffered by Eduardo da Silva, the Arsenal forward, after the challenge from Martin Taylor, of Birmingham City, as the spectre of dangerous play returned to the game.