Tottenham’s FA Cup tie with Rochdale was beset by more VAR and refereeing controversy at Wembley.
There were three major incidents in the first half of the fifth round replay before Spurs eventually ran riot against their League One opponents.
Here, Press Association Sport chronicles the controversies.
6 minutes – Spurs thought they had an early lead when Erik Lamela slotted home from close range but VAR decided otherwise when Fernando Llorente was harshly adjudged to have fouled Harrison McGahey in the build-up and the goal was chalked off.
VAR strikes again ?
Spurs thought they had the lead, but Fernando Llorente was judged to have committed a foul.
Robbie Savage was less than impressed ? pic.twitter.com/IePFp0rjWk
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 28, 2018
25 mins – Rochdale’s Matt Done hauled down Kieran Trippier on the right-hand side with the linesman originally awarding a free-kick to Spurs on the edge of the area. However, VAR showed that the offence continued into the box and after several minutes of deliberation, referee Paul Tierney changed his decision and awarded a penalty.
There’s another delay as VAR is used to determine whether or not the foul was inside or outside the area #RAFC
— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) February 28, 2018
28 mins – Son Heung-min stepped up to take the spot-kick and coolly sent Josh Lillis the wrong way. However, after the South Korean stuttered in his run-up, a tactic which has been outlawed, Tierney – without the help of VAR – awarded Dale an indirect free-kick and booked Son.
