Poch spells out his emotional concern
WHILE Keith Hill said he enjoyed his experience of VAR in the FA Cup fifth round replay, the same could not be said about Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who believes it could potentially kill emotion in football.
The Spurs boss was far was born. That is why we love the game that we know,” he said.
“I think in football, we are talking about emotion, the context of emotion. If we are going to kill the emotion then the fans, the people who love football, I don’t think are so happy about what they saw today.
“I think we have the best referees in Europe and the world. I think we don’t need too much, and then I think football is about making mistakes. Like us, we make a mistake, the players make a mistake and the referee can make a mistake.
“That is how it always is and we understand football in this way. When we watched all the action at half-time it was so difficult to take some decisions. That is why the referee is the boss on the pitch and he has the last word always.
“I think if I can help, if my opinion is important, I think it’s a lot of work to do, because we need to talk and to explain, because I think everyone was confused. I think we are not going to help the football and I think we are going to change the game that we love.
“That is why I am open to help and try to judge and to analyse and try to make better.
“If we are going to use this system we need to be sure and be clear what is going to happen in every single action.
I think the fans and myself, we are all agreed after watching the game that maybe VAR is too early for next season because we need to respect the fans.
“I think the fans who watch football are not so happy about this. I think you are going to kill that emotion that makes you feel happy and that is why you paid for the ticket and came to the game when the conditions are so bad.
“Maybe you are going to say I’ll watch the game through the TV and stay at home, because if I cannot shout to celebrate the goal because you have to wait two minutes you cannot express yourself.
“That is my opinion and I don’t want the people going to attack me because they are going to defend it. I am for the new technology but be careful when you are going to change the game that we know very well. We are going to change and kill the emotion.
“We can talk a lot about this. I don’t have enough vocabulary to explain how I feel.
“Maybe another day we need some meetings and I need a good translator next to me. I think that is the problem. Rather than talking about football we are talking about a machine. That is my worry.”
Tottenham’s victory over Rochdale means that they will go on to play Swansea City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, following their 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in their replay on Tuesday.