While it has been controversial ever since it was implemented back in the 2018 World Cup, VAR has caused some major acrimony in the past few months, with players openly protesting it’s shoddy usage.
One such incident occurred the last Saturday, during the match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
While the Blues managed to beat their London rivals 2-1 despite some tense moments in the end following a Rüdiger own goal, the match overall was riddled with controversy.
One of the most shocking decisions came in the 52nd minute.
Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso, who was in possession, was shielding it from the opposition when Azpilicueta came sliding in to get the ball. He missed, however, and was instead stamped on by Lo Celso.
The referee, who did not have the best view of the incident, referred it to VAR. However, even in this situation, with the decision being so easy to make, Lo Celso got away with nothing more than a yellow card.
This, when players with lesser offences usually get sent off with a direct booking. Even the Premier League admitted later on that the VAR had gotten it horribly wrong in that particular incident.
What’s interesting about this incident, however, was Jose Mourinho’s opinion about the situation.
The man was seen, by millions that too, on live television being directly in front of Lo Celso and Azpilicueta when the challenge happened, less than a metre away at the sideline.
Yet, when asked about it in a post match interview, all the Tottenham manager had to say was this:
“I didn’t watch it. I didn’t watch on TV and in the game. I don’t know.”
Good lord, that is some clowing of the highest order. And it is, by no means, the first or even the fifth incident of ‘The Special One’ having disparaged teams and their managers before: here’s a decent quiz on Mourinho’s many shithouse moments.
There’s no denying that Jose is certainly world class when it comes to both managerial tactics and shithouse antics.