defoe made 49 league and cup appearances for tottenham, scoring 18 goals, during 2006–07 as tottenham competed in the uefa cup as well as the domestic competitions. he appeared to bite west ham player javier mascherano on the shoulder during tottenham's 1–0 win over west ham in october 2006, sparking a melee between players of both teams. the fa declined to take action against defoe as the referee, steve bennett, had booked defoe for the incident. defoe scored his 50th goal for tottenham in the 2–1 win over aston villa on boxing day in december 2006, in which he scored both goals, and scored in tottenham's 2–0 win over charlton in may 2007, which condemned his former club to relegation to the championship. during the summer of 2007, there was speculation about defoe's future at tottenham following the arrival of darren bent for a fee of £16.5 million. however, defoe insisted that he would stay at tottenham and fight for his place, saying, "i'm really excited about the new season and the prospect of another campaign in europe. we have made some good signings and are now stronger and better equipped to compete in all competitions."