Pochettino Condemns VAR For Son Red Card
Tottenham Hotspurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has hit out at the Video Assistant Referee system after Son Heung Min was shown a straight red card for the tackle that saw Andre Gomes suffer a horrific ankle injury at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Son’s challenge on the Portuguese international was innocuous but the damage it inflicted was horrible as Gomes clashed into Serge Aurier before writhing down in pain.
Referee Martin Atkinson initially pulled out his yellow card but after seeing the damage on Gomes and consulting with VAR officials, he decided to change the colour to red.
The Premier League released a statement shortly after to clarify why the South Korean was sent off which read: “The red card for Son was for endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge.”
Tottenham went on the surrender their solitary lead in the 1-1 draw, and Pochettino was less than impressed with VAR on how the Son situation was handled.
"He was devastated," said Pochettino. "The players from Everton came to console him. I want to thank the captain, Coleman. He came to speak to Son. In the moment it was a little bit confusing, everyone knows on the pitch what happened, but no one believed it was intentional. When we watched on TV the outcome was very bad and we feel very sorry for Andre. The action was very bad luck.
"It was dreadful for Andre, but judge the action, not judge what happened after. We are very disappointed with this type of situation on VAR - it is there to help the referee not confuse the situation more. The referees need help. They need to go and check on the screen. In the end the decision changed everything, we were in control, we believed we were going to win the game, then we conceded the goal.
"The VAR need to check if it was a bad tackle and not a bad injury. It was clear that it was never the intention of Son to create the problem that happens after. It was unbelievable he received the red card. I never complain about the VAR, but please - we need use it in the best way. It is going to change the spirit of football."
Pochettino added: "I was the first or only coach in the Premier League that was against the VAR.
"This type of situation, that you need to help because the decision of the referee was yellow card. It is creating a big, big mess. For me, I love that the referees are the boss on the pitch.
"We feel very disappointed. Then, everything changed. I think it was under control for Tottenham. Then we concede a goal playing with one less. It is very difficult to understand this type of situation happened."
