VAR was in the limelight once again during Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Southampton.
Matt Le Tissier was left fuming as Mike Dean and his VAR officials opted to not award Southampton a penalty during their 1-0 win over Tottenham on New Year’s Day.
The Saints legend slammed the decision by the senior men officials as ‘ridiculous’, as Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld was accused of putting his hands up when Ryan Bertrand put in a cross.
There was some distance between the Spurs defender and the opposition player, but in Alderweireld’s favour, the cross did come in at some pace and he had little time to react.
Speaking to Soccer Special on Sky Sports (01/01/20 at 4:10 pm), Merson was reacting to the handball, and then VAR’s decision, with Le Tissier also offering his own insight.
“Oh, it’s a penalty,” Merson said on Soccer Saturday. “He [Bertrand] whips it in and it’s Alderweireld. It’s come a long way. His arms up here [nearly above his head[. He’s put his arm up and it has hit his arm. He’s hit it at pace. Is it clear and obvious? Mike Dean says no handball.
Le Tissier sat next to Merson in the Soccer Saturday studio responded: “What?! Ridiculous. Oh, VAR is rubbish. VAR is rubbish. Get rid of VAR [There was some sarcastic tone to Le Tissier’s comments on VAR because he has been pro VAR amid the huge controversy surrounding it].”
In the end, that decision, from Southampton’s perspective wasn’t costly because Danny Ings’ brilliant first-half strike was enough to see off a hapless Tottenham.
Tottenham’s defensive problems once again came to the forefront, and despite a New Year, it seems as though Spurs have carried their same problems from 2019 into 2020.
Whilst Tottenham’s top-four race has taken another blow, the Saints are climbing up the table as only a few weeks ago they were struggling in the relegation zone.
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