Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino was scathing in his attack on VAR after it was a major talking point in his side’s win over Rochdale in the FA Cup.
Spurs ran out comfortable 6-1 winners on the night at Wembley, and so fortunately from their perspective, it didn’t prove to be costly to their chances of advancing to the next round.
However, there were key decisions that required the intervention of VAR with referee Paul Tierney getting help on an Erik Lamela disallowed goal before Tottenham were awarded a penalty, only for Heung-Min Son to be pulled up on a stuttered run-up.
Based on his comments below, Pochettino isn’t impressed with the system as he believes it takes something away from the game with the delay and added scrutiny.
“The first half was a little bit embarrassing for everyone. Difficult to keep focus and play football. I am not sure that the system is going to help,” he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“Football is about emotion. I think the fans of people who love football are not so happy about what they see today.”
It will certainly be interesting to hear his thoughts when VAR works in his favour on a big decision, as that may allow him to see the benefits of the system.
Nevertheless, he does make a very valid point and he will get support from many who aren’t in favour of it as it does lead to a great deal of confusion with the way it is currently used.
As seen below, Lamela won’t be a fan of it after seeing his goal chalked off, but from a Tottenham perspective, it was a successful night at a snowy Wembley as they now face Swansea City in the next round and remain in the hunt for silverware, with or without VAR getting involved.
VAR strikes again ?
Spurs thought they had the lead, but Fernando Llorente was judged to have committed a foul.
Robbie Savage was less than impressed ? pic.twitter.com/IePFp0rjWk
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 28, 2018