Irate Jose Mourinho blasts VAR: ‘A man in an office is ruining football’
Jose Mourinho refused to give let his tongue get away with him, but did have a few choice words after Tottenham’s VAR controversey.
Spurs were denied what appeared a perfectly good goal when VAR chalked off Harry Kane’s apparent equaliser at Bramall Lane.
With Sheffield United 1-0 after Sander Berge’s opener, the disallowed strike proved costly as Spurs fell to a 3-1 defeat.
With Kane celebrating what he thought was the leveller, VAR then chalked the goal off; Lucas Moura having been adjudged to have handled the ball as he fell.
But replays showed the decision to be harsh, with Moura knowing nothing about the contact and the ball ricocheting off him as he fell.
It was no surprise when Mourinho was asked first of all about the incident in his after-match interview.
The frustrated Spurs boss at first refused to talk about the disallowed goal and the interpretation of the handball rule. However, he did hit out at the way VAR operates.
“I can’t say what I think, I would be in trouble, I would be suspended. I cannot say what I think, would like to but I can’t,” he told Sky Sports News.
“The referee is hidden in some office, this man on the pitch is not the referee, he doesn’t make the decisions.
“The main decisions made in football now are being made by the man in the office.”
On the performance itself, Mourinho admitted his side were a long way off their best.
“We have to do better, we have to be mentally stronger to cope with what happened,” he said. “We cannot mentally die after Michael Oliver’s decision. I know it’s difficult to take.
“In the second half we had the ball but we didn’t have chances to change the game.”
Jamie Redknapp claims decision is ‘worst he’s ever seen’
Mourinho’s frustration was shared by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.
The former Spurs midfielder claimed something had to change after showed his annoyance at the decision to rule out Kane’s goal.
“This is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen,” said an unimpressed Redknapp.
“I get the letter of the law but we have to show some common sense. When you get fouled, you have to put your arms down. It was accidental – he’s not meant it.
“It is a horrendous decision. He has got it completely wrong – and this is ruining football, things like this. Unbelievable.”
But while he agreed that the decision to disallow Kane’s equaliser was “harsh” and “unfair, Sky Sports co-commentator Andy Hinchcliffe added: “The law was correctly applied. If you don’t like the law, you change the law. We can’t lambast the officials for making the right decision, which they did.”
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