Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho questioned the point of having referees on the pitch and said VAR was bad for the game after his side were victims of a controversially disallowed equaliser in a 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United on Thursday.
Harry Kane thought he had levelled for Spurs almost immediately after Sander Berge had given the hosts the lead in their Premier league clash at Bramall Lane.
But VAR officials at their bunker in Stockley Park ruled that Lucas Moura had used his arm in the build-up despite the Brazilian being shoved over and then having the ball booted against him while sliding headlong on the turf.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp described the decision as one of the worst he had seen and called for common sense.
Mourinho looked furious at the time but the Portuguese coach refused to turn his ire on referee Chris Kavanagh.
"I think the referee should always be the man on the pitch and the man in the office should support and assist," Mourinho said of the incident. "But that's not the way that it is.
"Especially a referee who's not very good on the pitch, we can't expect him to be very good in the office. We're going into a direction that is very bad for a game which was the game that everyone fell in love with.
"Normally I am an emotional guy on the bench but, in this moment, I never complain with the man with the whistle because he's not the referee anymore.
"I used to go to the fourth (official) but the man on the pitch is the assistant referee and today the man and the lady with the flag, (who) used to be the assistant referees, are now assistant's assistant. The ref is in the office."
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has been a critic of VAR and felt wronged when his side had a goal ruled out in their 1-1 draw at Tottenham in November. He felt Mourinho's angst.
"I've got a back catalogue of decisions that have gone against us, we're the unofficial champs of Europe with decisions against us," he said. "I think it's a nonsense rule.
"I totally understand the frustration of their (Tottenham's) manager and players. We've had the rub of the green tonight on that one, well overdue but we'll take it."
Mourinho, whose side slipped to ninth, nine points adrift of the top four, questioned his side's reaction to the decision to chalk off Kane's goal.
"We have to do better, we have to be mentally stronger to cope with what happened during the game," he said. "It was a kick in the teeth but with 50 minutes to go, we have to be stronger. I don't think we were strong enough mentally."
Latest Stories
-
African Games medalists cries over unpaid bonuses
4 mins -
The Plastic menace: Our environment, our survival
5 mins -
NDC petitions Speaker on missing BVDs at EC
9 mins -
NDC officially out-doors Naana Jane as running mate today
2 hours -
Man tells grieving wife she doesn’t need a mother’s day gift because she’s ‘no longer a mom’
3 hours -
10 tiny exercises that will make you more creative than 99% of people
3 hours -
Court ceiling collapses following Tuesday’s downpour
4 hours -
Man remanded for uploading nude videos of a lady he lured into a relationship
6 hours -
Explainer: What is the Cash Waterfall Mechanism?
6 hours -
Survivors of child trafficking overcome adversity, excel in tertiary education
7 hours -
Confront the barriers to your progress – Professor Lydia Aziato challenges the youth
7 hours -
Expertise France leads EU-funded initiative empowering African Journalists to combat human trafficking
8 hours -
Ghana Grows Programme empowers Ghanaian youth through Youth Policy Dialogue
8 hours -
Eastern NDC raises GHS5.4m to support Mahama’s 2024 campaign
8 hours -
Kumawood actress Akyere Bruwaa condemns death rumours
8 hours