Referee Danny Makkelie stared down angry Tottenham stars with a smile as he explained why VAR had denied them a vital Champions League winner.
Harry Kane’s stoppage-time strike past Sporting CP was ruled out on Wednesday night, leaving Spurs with just a 1-1 draw when a victory would have guaranteed their progression as group winners.
After a lengthy wait, VAR confirmed its decision that Kane was narrowly offside after Emerson Royal’s header set up the dramatic finish.
Coach Antonio Conte’s remonstrations earned him a red card moments after the decision before Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg led the protests at full time.
“It’s offside,” Makkelie stated to Dier as TV cameras picked up their exchange, the German official shrugging off the criticism.
"It was offside..."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 26, 2022
"But why?! Why?! The ball went backwards!"
Eric Dier is in disbelief! 😬#UCL pic.twitter.com/2BQaTwQ4u5
Dier claimed the ball moving backwards prevented such a call, although the rulebook does not specify the movement of the ball impacting offside decisions.
Makkelie added: “Because they used the lines.”
Tottenham assistant Cristian Stellini was the next to make his case, leading to the official making a short statement to the coach - not picked up by microphones - before pointing to the tunnel and walking away.
Conte made his frustrations with VAR clear in his short, sharp post-match press conference.
“I don’t understand the line they put. It’s very difficult to comment on this decision,” he said.
“VAR is doing a lot of damage. I want to see if in another stadium of a big team if they are ready to disallow this type of goal. I’d like to know this.
“A lot of injustice. I don’t like this type of situation. I see not positive things.”
