Did VAR spoon feed Tottenham to beat Chelsea? close analysis

Maurizio Sarri insists Harry Kane was offside before he was fouled in the box by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Referee Michael Oliver used Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to determine whether Kane was offside when he ran through on goal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Camera angles seemed to confirm Kane was being played onside, but Sarri said after the game he had clear evidence the striker was offside.

Kane scored the penalty to ensure Tottenham earned a narrow victory, but Sarri says English referees do not how to use VAR correctly. ‘A few minutes ago I watched the video from our camera. It was offside.

Our camera was in line with Harry Kane,’ Sarri said. ‘Offside with the head, the knee. Offside. It was really important the linesman carried on running, he had a big impact on our defenders.

‘I don’t think English referees are able to use the system. ‘If you are not sure with the system, you have to follow the ball and at the end of the action decide. ‘But he stopped it and didn’t follow the ball – for our defenders it was offside. I don’t know about the goalkeeper but sure the defenders.

‘I think they have to study the system. It’s very strange in the Premier League there isn’t VAR and in Carabao Cup there is the system. ‘It’s very strange for us, the players and referees.’

The 1-0 victory gives Tottenham a lead to defend when they travel to Stamford Bridge for the second leg later this month. While Sarri was clearly frustrated with the VAR decision, Mauricio Pochettino too was disappointed with how the technology was being used. He said: ‘The technology is still developing and we need to work together to try and be clear when we are going to use it.’

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *