Harry Kane saw a last-second winner ruled out by VAR on Wednesday as Tottenham were denied the chance to beat Sporting Lisbon; Eric Dier is seen shouting at the referee, but Peter Crouch explains why he is wrong on BT Sport.
Tottenham were woeful in the first half, but they were immense in the second. Coming back from a Marcus Edwards opener, Rodrigo Bentancur leaped above Antonio Adan to equalise. In the final few seconds, Kane scored to win 2-1.
But VAR took four minutes to make a decision. Emerson Royal’s header into Kane sees the England skipper offside by his right knee. But Dier was arguing with the referee after full-time, telling the referee the ball has gone backwards.
Indeed, replays show that Royal’s header has gone backwards – before it hits a Sporting defender and bounces into Kane’s path. But Crouch explains that it does not matter if Royal’s header goes backwards, if Kane is ahead of him.
“Can totally understand Eric Dier’s position there, because we just assume the ball goes backwards it means you are on onside. But the ball travelling backwards doesn’t matter if the player is in front of the ball. By the law, he is offside.”
Tottenham denied: Crouch explains why Dier is wrong
While it was a cruel decision on Tottenham, these are the rules that are in place. Royal does head the ball backwards, but if Kane is ahead of Royal when he heads the ball – then it is offside. Even after the Sporting deflection into Kane.
The lines have denied Tottenham a dramatic win, the chance to go into the knockout stages. They will now have to go into the last game against Marseille in France, hoping to secure a result. They do still sit at the top of the group.
But they know, a trip to Marseille will be a tough one. While the debate is whether VAR is ruining football and the rules in place are correct, they are the current rules football adheres to. Unfortunately, Dier is wrong – and it was offside.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
