Chelsea boss Pochettino calls for VAR to be simplified

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has called for the VAR system to be simplified, saying he “trusts the car but the driver is the problem” following the costly Liverpool goal blunder.

Liverpool were wrongly denied an opening goal in their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham last weekend due to an error by VAR operator Darren England.

Luis Diaz’s strike was given offside by the on-pitch officials, but England mistakenly thought they had made an onside call.

Diaz was onside and England confirmed that decision before realising the misunderstanding meant he had given the green light for the game to restart with the goal disallowed.

Pochettino is in favour of the technology, but the Argentine would like to see it simplified.

“I trust in the VAR and how we manage the VAR. I trust in the car but the driver? That is the problem,” he said on Friday.

“For me it is about simplifying the situation. After many years seeing how things work, the most important is to return and give the power more to the referee.”

Pochettino wants offside and goal-line calls checked by VAR, but would prefer other on-pitch decisions to be left up to the referee and his assistants.

“Offside and goal-line decisions, they are the only two to keep (for VAR),” he said.

“Trust in the referee because at the moment we are not happy with VAR, we are not happy with the people that manage the VAR, but worse is we are not happy with the referee and that is the problem.

“We need to think a little bit in the future. Maybe one step back, maybe make things easier and more clear.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on Friday accepted Liverpool were denied a “legitimate goal” due to the mistake.

Referees body the Professional Game Match Officials Limited admitted it was a “significant human error”, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp saying a replay was the fairest solution.

There is no suggestion of a replay being considered by Premier League chiefs, but Postecoglou was willing to admit his side had a lucky break.

“The facts of it are that it was a legitimate goal Liverpool scored that wasn’t given,” the Australian said.

“You kind of look at why it’s not given because that’s the first thing you question: obviously something has broken down.

“It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue. It wasn’t a misappropriation of the law. It was an error in communication, a mistake, a mistake which cost Liverpool.”

Postecoglou also pleaded for understanding to be shown towards the widely-criticised England.

“It’s a significant error but it’s a human being that’s made that error,” he said. 

“I don’t think that there’s anything that needs to go too far-reaching.”