Who will remind Tottenham Hotspur of recent VAR history?

 The weekend is done and it’s time to take stocks, time to look at the biggest performers and sympathize with the broken lots, no doubt about it, Manchester City were the biggest winners and their next-door neighbors are the worst in terms of context and standings but some words are due to Spurs and their VAR cries, one has to remind them of recent history as well as offer condolences to Chelsea that gave everything and yet lost on their porch.

Who will remind Spurs?

At the quarter-finals of the UEFA champions league last season, after winning at home by a slim 1-0 margin, Spurs went to the Etihad with many expecting that to be the end of their UEFA Champions League runs but with the scoreline on the night at 4-3, keeping them on top via away goals rule after some feisty goal-fest, Raheem Sterling wheeled away in celebrations thinking he had won it for the Citizens only for the VAR to rule the goal out for offside.

City crashed out at the altar of a very debatable call from an external influence and you have to fast forward a few months later, just three games into the new season, with Lucas Moura leveling the scores at 2-2 just seconds after being sent on by Mauricio Pochetino, Gabriel Jesus thought he had assisted Sterling again for the winner, but VAR again spotted a contentious handball and thereby ruled the goal out, another huge favor from the external referee.

Over the weekend in the lunchtime kickoff at the King Power Stadium, Nigerian midfield enforcer, Wilfred Ndidi had bundled home from close range after a goalmouth scramble off a Leicester corner, it didn’t take too long for Paul Tierney at the center to confirm from the VAR that the goal wouldn’t stand.

Once again handing the VAR advantage to Tottenham Hotspur, but in the second half of the encounter, long after Harry Kane had fired the visitors in front with what you call the hustler’s goal, Heung Min Son glided past the Leicester defense to set up Serge Aurier who fired past Kasper Schmeichel brilliantly, after a well-rehearsed celebration, the goal was chalked off for offside, while the margin was painfully in millimeters, it was the correct decision.

Spurs went on to concede immediately after the cancelled goal and eventually lost the match when James Madison fired in from distance, recording a goal after 31 odd attempts on goal.

31 - James Maddison ended a run of 31 shots in the Premier League without a goal, since netting versus Huddersfield in April. Relief. pic.twitter.com/NcwtQMcgVM

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 21, 2019

Mauricio Pochettino and Spurs fans haven’t stopped crying foul from the VAR incident that went against them, and you’d wonder if they have partial amnesia or just don’t know how to accept defeats.

The VAR is here to stay this season, there are calls for review but that can only be done at the end of the season, it will help your team at some points and it will no doubt work against you at other points, whichever one comes, you have to be liberal enough to accept it.

The loss left Spurs on eight points, a whole ten off the pace of Liverpool after just six games. They’re home to Southampton next and it will be a game they must win or the unrest will continue to grow into contempt among the fans at their new White Hart Lane.


Written by @komptrolla