Spurs crumble after VAR handball howler
THE only alternative for Lucas Moura was to use his face to block John Egan’s clearance, and so avoid the handball that denied Harry Kane an equalising goal.
Foolishly, in a VAR world, the Spurs forward chose not to lose his teeth and, instinctively, extended his arms as he fell at the defender’s feet having been sandwiched — and fouled — by two home jerseys just outside the box.
Egan, in an attempt to hack downfield, blasted against Moura’s bicep — not that you could tell — before the ball spun to Kane, who stepped away from a defender and finished.
Not a single protest was heard — in an empty stadium you’d know if there was — and all involved lined up for the restart.
It was then that the giant screen turned VAR-check purple and, by the time referee Chris Kavanagh had been told by VAR official Michael Oliver to disallow the goal, Jose Mourinho’s face was a similar colour.
As if to compound his rage, the screen immediately showed a replay of the incident. To the ordinary eye it confirmed what was a late entry for most ludicrous VAR intervention of the season, and there is some competition on that score. Not least during the reverse fixture when United had a goal chalked off because John Lundstram’s big toe was offside.
It is the laws and not VAR itself, of course, that mean such nonsense has invaded and vandalised our game. Sadly, common sense is not included in the rulebook.
Mourinho said: ‘I would be in trouble if I said what I feel. I never complain with the referee anymore, because he is not the referee. He is only the assistant referee. The referee is in the office and that is not good for the game.’
Kane did eventually score with what was nothing more than a consolation in stoppage-time. At least the boys in the VAR studio have a sense of humour, for it brought a collective laugh inside the ground when they checked it for offside. Kane, for the record, was clearly on as he finished from close range.
By then, though, the damage was done for Spurs, in part because of VAR, but a large chunk of it self-inflicted.
If they had huffed and puffed before Kane’s lost goal, they simply seemed to huff thereafter. They were awful. Champions League finalists last season, they are now level on points with Burnley, scrapping it out for ninth position, nine points behind Chelsea in fourth.
Mourinho said: ‘We have to be mentally stronger to cope with what happened. We cannot mentally die. I know it’s difficult to take and it’s a kick in the teeth, but with an hour to go we have to be stronger.’ To their credit, Chris
Wilder’s hosts took full advantage and ended a slump of one point from nine, climbing back above Spurs and re-igniting their own European hopes.
This was their best performance since the restart, even if that bar is as low as the attendance figure.
And, for the first time post lockdown, they scored a league goal. In his seven previous appearances since arriving for a club record £22million from Genk in January, midfielder Sander Berge had not even troubled a goalkeeper, never mind the scorers.
On 31 minutes he belatedly registered his first effort on target for the Blades and the sight of his 12yard shot rolling into the bottom corner should encourage the Norwegian to try his luck more often.
Berge had been involved in what was an incisive build-up, his pass finding George Baldock who fed the overlapping Chris Basham and he pulled back for his team-mate to control before sweeping home.
Within 85 seconds Spurs were level, or so they thought. Yes, it was an injustice, but the visiting performance that followed was also criminal.
Their defence went missing as the unmarked Lys Mousset made it 2-0 on 69 minutes, turning in from Enda Stevens’ low cross. And the resistance was non- existent again six minutes from time when Oli McBurnie hooked home a Berge delivery at the near post.
Wilder said: ‘We are the VAR champions of Europe when it comes to decisions against us, so I understand Jose’s frustration.’ What was more difficult to understand was why Spurs seemingly gave up, and you didn’t need VAR to realise that. SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Henderson 6; Basham 7, Egan 7.5, Robinson 6.5; Baldock 7,
BERGE 8, Norwood 7, Osborn 7, Stevens 7; McBurnie 7 (Freeman 90min), McGoldrick 6 (Mousset 63, 7).
Subs not used: Moore, Jagielka, Zivkovic, Rodwell, Sharp. Scorers: Berge 31, Mousset 69, McBurnie 84. Booked: Norwood, McBurnie.
Manager: Chris Wilder 8. TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 5; Aurier 5 (Ndombele 71, 5), Sanchez 5, Dier 5.5, Davies 6 (Vertonghen 81); Sissoko 5.5 (Alli 71, 5), Lo Celso 6.5; Lucas 6, Bergwijn 6 (Lamela 56, 6), Son 6; Kane 6.5. Subs not used: Gazzaniga, Alderweireld, Winks, Skipp, Fernandes. Scorer: Kane 90. Booked: None.
Manager: Jose Mourinho 6. Referee: Chris Kavanagh 6.