I'm not a fan of VAR — Tottenham boss slams use to technology in football officiating after Liverpool win
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Postecoglou and Klopp in Tottenham vs Liverpool || Image credit: Imago

I'm not a fan of VAR — Tottenham boss slams use to technology in football officiating after Liverpool win

Faruq Ibrahim 23:27 - 01.10.2023

Despite being a recipient of a favourable VAR call that helped his team beat Liverpool, Tottenham boss said he is not a fan of the technology.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has commented on the use of VAR after an error from the use of the technology aided his team in their victory over Liverpool on Saturday.

What Postecoglou said

Tottenham had a number of favourable referee decisions in their victory against the Reds, and although Jurgen Klopp’s team received two red cards, the most contentious decision was a Luis Diaz goal that was ruled off.

The PGMOL subsequently apologised for the decision, tagging it as a “significant human error.” Postecoglou took the opportunity to rehash his reservations on VAR, saying he is not a fan of the concept nor its execution.

“I think I’m on record saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it (VAR) since it’s come in,” he said, per Daveockop.

“Not for any other reason; I just think it really complicates areas of the game that I feel were pretty clear in the past. But I can see at the same time why it was inevitable that the technology would come in. I guess we have to deal with it. The biggest problem I think we have is that we seem to fail to grasp is that no form of technology is going to make the game error-less.

“We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors. You have to cop it, some people cop it better than others but that was part of the game.

Ange Postecoglou was happy with the courage his Spurs showed at the Emirates. (Photo Credit: Spurs/X)
Ange Postecoglou was happy with the courage his Spurs showed at the Emirates. (Photo Credit: Spurs/X)
Jurgen Klopp in the defeat against Tottenham || Image credit: Imago
Jurgen Klopp in the defeat against Tottenham || Image credit: Imago

“The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right. But we all accepted that as part of the game because we’re all human beings. But I think people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be error-less.

“I don’t think there is any technology, with so much of our game isn’t factual. It isn’t down to interpretation, they are still human beings. They are going to make mistakes, the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.

“So, I think when you put such a high bar on something, invariably it’s going to fail. If people were thinking that VAR is going to be something that is perfect at some point, that’s never going to happen.”

PGMOL apologise to Liverpool

The league refereeing committee admitted that a wrong call was made in the decision to rule out Luis Diaz's goal in Saturday’s match-up between the Reds and Tottenham.

The Colombian thought he gave Liverpool the lead in the clash, coming off the shoulder of the last defender before finishing past Guglielmo Vicario; however, the goal was ruled out for offside, and VAR was believed to have upheld the decision.

Liverpool went on to lose 2-1, but following the game, the PGMOL confessed that Diaz’s goal should have stood.

"The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials,’ the PGMOL said in their statement.

This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention. However, the VAR failed to intervene.

"PGMOL will immediately be contacting Liverpool at the conclusion of the fixture to acknowledge the error."

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