Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is creating “a lot of damage and injustice in football” after his side’s 95th-minute goal by English forward Harry Kane against Sporting CP was disallowed last night in the Champions League.
Conte, whose team will now have to win their last group match against Marseille next Tuesday to progress to the knockout stage, was sent off in the same match after he angrily protested the VAR decision describing it as a source of injustice.
“The ball was in front of Kane and the goal is the goal. I don’t understand the VAR, the line they put,” he told BT Sports.
It’s very difficult to comment on this decision, VAR is creating a lot of damage and we have to accept.”
The Tottenham manager went on to accuse UEFA match officials of dishonesty.
“I feel a lot of injustice, I don’t see positivity with this. I’m really upset because sometimes you can accept this situation. But I don’t see honesty in this type of situation, when I see this I become very upset,” he said.
Tottenham however, remained top of Group D with 8 points after drawing 1-1 with Sporting CP who are second with 7 points while Frankfurt and Marseille are third and fourth in the group on 7 and 6 points respectively and still in contention for the top two spots.
Meanwhile, several Tottenham players and fans as well as pundits have backed Conte’s statement and expressed their displeasure with last night’s VAR decision which denied Spurs a last minute winner.
“Did I miss something, or have the rules changed? Royal comes from an onside posistion, get ahead of play and pass the ball backwards, as he is ahead of Kane surely that’s onside? Really really don’t get this – unless of course somewhere the rule changed”- @martinifalini
“I want a handwritten explanation from the entire refereeing crew of that match as to why and how they thought that wasn’t a goal and why it took them four minutes to check it.” – @bradenelee
“VAR is destroying the joy of being a football fan. We can no longer enjoy the euphoric moment of celebrating a goal. Really is so sad.”-@PaulHambling
