Pochettino in surprise criticism of VAR despite its role in Spurs win

Mauricio Pochettino complained about the use of VAR despite it playing a huge part in Tottenham’s win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.

A Harry Kane penalty in the first half, following a VAR review, gave Spurs the victory, giving them a slight advantage after the first part of the two-legged semi-final.

Even though VAR worked in Spurs’ favour, Pochettino told Sky Sports that he is not pleased by the technology.

He said: “I don’t like the VAR. Today we get the benefit of it but after watching the World Cup and another league like La Liga I see that nobody is happy from day one that they started to use it.

“To get the benefit is nice but I am unhappy to win the game like this. I prefer the technology but in a different way. Being clear. I am pro-technology because you cannot stop evolution but we are waiting so long, it is not clear what are the rules.

“We all have to agree, the players, the coaching staff, I watch every week La Liga and nobody is happy, the big clubs and the small clubs. If you are playing to win the title or to stay up nobody is happy.

“That is a good example for us. We have six months to improve the system and there is a lot of work to do.”

With the tie delicately poised after the first leg, Pochettino was keen to highlight how competitive the match was, and insisted his team must not feel like they have one foot in the final.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We were very competitive. Chelsea pushed us in some periods and they have a lot of quality.

“I am so pleased because we scored and then competed well. They pushed us to play deeper, and if we linked up a bit better, we could have scored another goal but I am happy. The tie is still open.”

 

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