Football News

Uefa respond to accusations of VAR oversight for Spurs’ third goal v Man City

By Steve Jennings

Published: 18:00, 18 April 2019

Uefa has defended the decision to award a penalty to Tottenham Hotspur after a VAR check for Fernando Llorente’s decisive goal against Manchester City on Wednesday.

The ball appeared to touch Llorente’s arm before ricocheting off his hip and into the net, sending Spurs through to the Champions League semi-finals on away goals.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7234057-i-can-t-think-of-any-potential-arsenal-signings-that-make-more-sense

BT Sport’s live broadcast of the match showed the angle referee Cuneyt Cakir was repeatedly watching on the VAR screen at the side of the pitch.

The angle made any contact with Llorente’s arm unclear, and it was suggested Cakir should have viewed another clearer angle to determine whether the the ball touched the striker’s arm.

“All relevant angles were made available to the referee to take his decision last night.”

After signalling the goal stood, Cakir pointed to his hip suggesting there was no contact with Llorente’s arm.

According to the MEN, a UEFA spokesperson said: “All relevant angles were made available to the referee to take his decision last night.”

In a column for Yahoo! Sport, former referee Keith Hackett claimed similar goals will be ruled out next season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imww_za6yZI

Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.

“Roberto Rossetti, Uefa’s head of refereeing, said he would not allow any goal to be scored with use of hand,” Hackett wrote.

“The International Football Association Board announced in March that future handballs will be given against a player if their arms extend “beyond a natural silhouette” – even if accidental.”

Tottenham will now face Ajax in the semi-finals while Manchester City’s attention will turn to the Premier League title race.