Tottenham have been on the receiving end of two extremely poor VAR decisions in recent away matches against Sheffield United and Bournemouth.
Lucas Moura was the unwitting victim of an utterly unintentional handball claim at Bramall Lane, leading to Harry Kane’s strike being chalked off.
Against the Cherries, VAR somehow missed Josh King’s charge on Kane, the kind of incident the technology picked up with minimum fuss at the 2018 World Cup.
The Premier League match centre admitted the decision was wrong and Jose Mourinho was clearly unimpressed after the game (BBC).
However frustrated Mourinho is – and he doesn’t hide it well – the VAR nightmares are even more frustrating for Spurs fans.
Not only have their side been denied goals which might have changed the course of matches they failed to win, they also give the Portuguese ready-made excuses.
The performances against Sheffield United and Bournemouth have been incredibly poor, a long way short of the standard required.
But the VAR controversy obscures that issue. When it comes to asking Mourinho questions, he can focus on the decisions, rather than his side’s abject defending in Yorkshire or failure to muster a shot on target on the south coast.
Those are the questions Spurs fans want answers to but a secondary consequence of the VAR incompetence is it gives Mourinho – who loves blaming others for his mistakes – an obvious chance to do exactly that.
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