Maurizio Sarri is convinced Harry Kane’s VAR-approved winner in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg victory over Chelsea should have been ruled out for offside – and believes he has the evidence to prove it. Kane was flagged offside as he ran onto a through ball in the first half before being upended by Chelsea ‘keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. However, after consulting VAR – which judged Kane to be onside – referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty to Spurs, which Kane converted.
The image used by the referees to rule that as onside
Sarri later claimed that Chelsea’s own images suggested the Tottenham striker was offside. “Kane was clearly offside. I watched the video from our camera,” the Chelsea manager insisted afterwards. Maurizio Sarri then brought out Chelsea’s analysis footage of the game on a laptop to prove Kane was offside
Kane appears to be offside from Chelsea’s angle
Sarri further went on to say “With the head, it’s offside. But it’s not important. It was important that the linesman stopped the run, he didn’t follow the ball, so he had a big influence on our defenders, and at the moment I think the English referees aren’t able to use the system.
When asked about it from Harry Kane following the victory “I played to the whistle and nicked it round the keeper, it was a clear penalty. VAR is there for a reason and they got it right,” .
“I’ll have to watch it back and see. I’m used to it after the World Cup, it’s a big part of football going forwards. From our point of view, it doesn’t change much [waiting to hear if it was a penalty].
Do you think it’s an offside or did referee make the correct decision?