VAR is at it again
Brentford were cruelly denied an equaliser in their EFL Cup semi-final against Tottenham on Tuesday night after the VAR judged Ivan Toney's knee to be offside.
Tottenham had taken the lead through Moussa Sissoko in the first half, but Brentford bounced back with some attacking spells and would have equalised had VAR not intervened to overturn what many viewers saw as a legitimate goal.
In the 63rd minute, Brentford swung in a corner to the back post that reached Ethan Pinnock at the back post. The defender then headed the ball back across the goal. Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris had misjudged the flight of the header, coming to claim it too early and only managing to get fingertips on it. The ball then fell to Brentford's Ivan Toney, who duly nodded it into an open net.
https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/1346564815691653125
As is the case with every goal when VAR is being used, it was checked by the man in the van in Stockley Park, and the judge ruled: offside.
Was it offside? Well, the lines on the screen seem to think so. But in the pre-VAR era I believe this is what we would have called 'level', allowed the goal and moved on.
Obviously, you can't score with your arms, so the lines here are calculating whether Toney's knee is beyond Sissoko's leg. Due to the camera angle being used, it seems impossible to define beyond doubt where Sissoko's leg is actually planted on the floor.
Alas, the lines were drawn, the goal was disallowed, and twitter didn't like it.
https://twitter.com/cleaver_mason/status/1346565071091232769?s=20
https://twitter.com/JonathanG16__/status/1346564915776122885?s=20
https://twitter.com/ChrisMoreton12/status/1346568520172244992?s=20
Whether it would have made a difference to the scoreline is uncertain. Tottenham were the dominant team throughout and went on to win 2-0 after Heung-min Son doubled the host's lead shortly afterwards. But had this goal been allowed, who knows how the game might have ended?
