Antonio Conte has blasted English football for a negative attitude to VAR. The former Juventus and Chelsea head coach left no stone unturned as he poured out his mind on how the English football officials use the VAR.
On a sunny and bright afternoon at the West London Stadium, it was another London derby. This time, the West London club trading tackles with the North London club. Both clubs are Premier League giants and were set for a pulsating encounter on Premier League matchday five.
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham were favored by the odds going into the game. West Ham have not been spectacular so far this season. They were indeed a no match for the depths within the ranks of the visitors with intimating squad.
Tottenham went into the game with much confidence. So far, they have dropped only two points against Chelsea and have won the remaining three. West Ham won only one of their last three matches going into the game against Tottenham.
As usual, Tottenham dominated and pressed for an early goal. This resulted in the host conceding a third home penalty. Peter Bankes, the center referee, whistled and awarded a penalty to Tottenham. VAR Stuart Attwell immediately signaled the referee to revisit the penalty decision, which he did. After four minutes of VAR, Peter Bankes reversed the decision.
Tottenham still went on to take the lead in the match courtesy of Kehrer’s own goal, but West Ham equalized from Soucek’s 55th-minute strike. The match ended in a 1-1 win, both sides sharing the spoils.
Reactions have continued to trail the decision of Peter Bankes to award and later reverse a penalty call. In a post-match press conference, Antonio did not hide his fury and disapproval of Peter Banke’s decision to reverse the penalty.
“I said to him [the referee] at the end of the first half, but with a smile and not in a problematic way, you have taken the right decision and then VAR called you. They have for sure embarrassed the referee because to make him change a right decision, I think it was really, really strange,” he said.
He cited another instance of a similar clear penalty situation that was not given and grossly misjudged.
“Don’t forget that against Nottingham Forest and a clear situation of goal that the player and went with his hand and a clear penalty situation, red card no and today was clear because I know the rule”, he said.
Conte seemed to throw a shade on naive English football officials’ attitude to VAR, saying that they react to VAR decisions the way they do because they don’t know the rules.
“England doesn’t like VAR, and this is very, very clear. But I think they are right because if these are the decisions, it’s incredible, or they don’t know the rules.”
The former Juventus manager pointed out that the referee’s decision should be final, whether right or wrong, because they are humans.
“We accept the mistake of the referee. Honestly, I prefer the mistake of the referee”, he stressed. “The positive or negative situation, see a penalty or he doesn’t see the penalty, okay, but come on, we continue.”
According to Antonio Conte, what occurred in the game against West Ham had happened when the team faced Nottingham Forest.
“I never comment about the referee’s decision, never. But this is two clear situations”, Antonio Conte stressed. “Two games in a row against Nottingham Forest and now against West Ham.”
Tottenham dropped another two points against David Moye’s team in their mid-week game. According to David Moyes, Peter Blanke’s decision was perfect. While Antonio Conte has strongly disagreed with this position asserting that the VAR technology may be wrong. He also blasted English officials for a shallow knowledge of how VAR works.
