Antonio Conte slams VAR for overturning Tottenham Hotspur penalty vs West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has slammed the VAR decision to suggest referee Peter Bankes reconsider his decision to award a penalty to Spurs against West Ham United.
In the 12th minute of the game, the referee pointed to the spot after Aaron Cresswell handled the ball in the box. However, Bankes was advised to take a second look by the VAR team. Subsequently, the penalty decision was overturned.
Speaking after the fixture via the Evening Standard, Conte made his frustrations known. The Italian manager suggested VAR be scrapped in England for the sake of the club and the fans.
“I think in England it is better to cut off VAR — for the crowd but also for us.
“The VAR for sure embarrassed the referee because to make him change the right decision was really, really strange.”
In Conte’s opinion, Bankes had made the right call. However, with the VAR team calling the referee to the screen, the North London side were denied an opportunity.
Spurs had a mixed game
Tottenham eventually took the lead in the 34th minute. Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane went past the West Ham defence. The England international slipped in a cross for the South Korean, forcing a mistake from Thilo Kehrer, who scored an own goal.
Spurs dominated the first half. The Hammers were unable to get close to Hugo Lloris’ box and tried to test the Frenchman from distance. However, the World Cup winner was able to thwart the attempts.
However, the second half wasn’t the best from Tottenham. A slight lapse in concentration led to us conceding a goal in the 55th minute from a throw-in. Thomas Soucek got into the box and put the ball past Lloris.
Yves Bissouma was somewhat culpable for the goal. The Malian switched off and let the Czech national get a free run into the penalty area. West Ham were the better side in the second half and had chances to get all three points.
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There is a discussion to be had around the handball decision, with the ball coming off Cresswell’s head before hitting his hand. While VAR has brought some positives, there have been a lot of complaints about the uniformity of decisions.
