Ange Postecoglou was left seething on the touchline.Ange Postecoglou was left seething on the touchline.
Ange Postecoglou was left seething on the touchline. | Getty Images
The VAR gong has sounded twice at Stamford Bridge tonight with goals ruled out for both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur thought that they had found a leveller in the enticing London derby with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight, only for Pape Sarr’s equaliser to be ruled out by VAR.
The video assistant had intervened in the match just minutes earlier to cancel out a second Blues goal courtesy of Moises Caicedo. The midfielder struck home gloriously from a volley but Levi Cowill was deemed to be in an offside position from the prior free kick.
Invigorated by that decision, Tottenham looked to drive themselves back into the match and appeared to have done that as Sarr struck home from distance with a swagger. Spurs celebrations followed but were cut short as the big screen at Stamford Bridge signalled that VAR was checking for a possible foul.
How Tottenham Hotspur boss reacted to disallowed Chelsea goal
That infringement came in the run up to the goal with Caicedo going down under a challenge from Sarr. Referee Craig Pawson was sent to the screen and, after another long wait, ruled that the goal should not stand.
Standing seething on the touchline, Postecoglou could be seen standing with his arms spread out wide as he watched Pawson being shown the incident. He then clutched his head in his hands and trudged around his box. When the referee blew to signal the disallowed goal, the Aussie lifted one finger in the air and waggled it, as if to signal ‘no’, in the direction of Pawson.
Explaining the decision, the Premier League Match Centre wrote: “VAR checked the referee’s call of goal for Tottenham - and deemed there was a foul by Sarr on Caicedo in the build-up and recommended an on-field review. The referee then overturned the original decision and the goal was disallowed, with Sarr then cautioned for a reckless challenge.”
Ange Postecoglou critical of VAR
Postecoglou is known not to be a fan of VAR, having sent a warning to the Premier League about the system in January. At the time, he said: “I’m really surprised at how people in this country are so easily letting the game change so much so quickly. It’s changed more since VAR came in than in the last 50 years. We never used to debate offsides, we never used to debate handballs, we never used to debate holding in the box. We never used to debate so many things.
“Did everyone really love the announcement today? Did that give you a buzz? I mean, seriously. My understanding of it is that this is what the people want. That’s what I keep being told. I understand that VAR and technology is going to be there. It’s like my wife and my kids. We know technology exists but she limits screen time. Why? To lay things down.
“We’ve just got to be a bit careful about constantly changing the game so much. And I know I’m going to be the old guy in the stands who keeps shouting ‘boo’ every time. But I just thought people would be a bit more protective over the sanctity of the game. That’s what I was talking about. I wasn’t criticising referees. I just think there’s a lot of confusion at the moment and [that] the game is changing on the basis of technology.”
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