Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp slammed referee Uriah Rennie for the "scandalous" decision which cost the south coast strugglers dearly in a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham.
Spurs came from behind to beat struggling Pompey 3-1 at White Hart Lane in Redknapp's first game back as manager, with a controversial penalty award leading to their vital second goal.
Redknapp was furious to see Rennie award Spurs a penalty seven minutes from time when Andy Reid's free-kick appeared to hit Gary O'Neil on the arm. Mido converted from the spot.
Redknapp believed the penalty was an obvious case of ball to hand and said: "The referee has made three bad decisions and cost us a point here.
"First he gave a free-kick against us at the other end of the pitch and when Spurs broke on us he gave a soft free-kick from which the ball struck Gary's arm. He swears he did not raise the arm. It was scandalous.
"You would see a penalty given for that once in a hundred times. But it makes my job to keep Pompey up even harder."
Spurs skipper Ledley King had trumped Pompey's defence to head an equaliser 11 minutes into the second half after Lomana LuaLua's spectacular 24th-minute opener for Portsmouth.
Substitute Jermain Defoe's last-minute strike for Spurs' third was almost irrelevant - apart from ending his own goal drought which had lasted since September 26.
Redknapp added: "It was always going to be hard the way things were going but if the players show the same spirit and effort they will do well for me.
"They were fantastic. They worked their socks off."
It is difficult not to feel a little despondent about Sunderland at the moment because no matter what sort of spin you try to put on it, three back to back defeats is difficult to accept....
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