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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Antonio Conte launches new fierce VAR criticism as Tottenham boss claims he could do a better job

Antonio Conte says VAR is robbing football of emotion and damaging the game, and claimed it should be "impossible" for officials to make mistakes using the technology.

In another fierce criticism of the implementation of the technology, Conte claimed he could do a better job than the video officials, saying he never has a problem reaching the right conclusion when watching matches at home.

Conte was incandescent after Harry Kane's stoppage-time winner in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon was ruled out by the VAR for a fractional offside against the England captain.

The goal would have booked Spurs’ place in the last-16 of the Champions League as group winners but instead they now face a must-not-lose visit to Marseille on Tuesday.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's trip to Bournemouth, Conte insisted he had not changed his mind about the decision since Wednesday, and hinted again at a lack of "honesty" from the officials.

"I continue to think it's impossible to make mistakes with VAR. It's impossible," the Spurs head coach said. "You have a screen, you have time. It's impossible to make mistakes and for this reason I don't like this. It's the same if the coach can see [what will happen at] the end of the game and you can make different substitutions.

Antonio Conte doubled down on his fierce criticism of VAR after Spurs’ draw with Sporting (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

"For me it's impossible to make a wrong decision with VAR and to keep people waiting five or six minutes. To wait five or six minutes means you have confusion in your mind. It's incredible.

"I hope in every situation to see honesty. I only ask for this. But to make mistakes with VAR, it means you're really, really... I don't want to say what I think!"

Conte insisted he was initially in favour of VAR because it allowed him to be "calm" on the bench, safe in the knowledge that the right decision would be reached. But he claimed "something changed" with the use of the technology around six months after its introduction in Europe.

"The VAR has started to give different interpretations," Conte continued. "Now, you don't know what happens. What happened in the last game was incredible.

"You score, you are already qualified for the next round, you're already celebrating and then you have to stay five minutes for the decision of the VAR and you don't know if it's right or wrong. This is not football.

"You cut the emotion of everybody, especially the players. Because if you score a goal you don't know what happens later. Someone invents a fall a minute before and then they go to disallow it! It happens. But it happens only when they want it to happen.

"It has to be the right interpretation for everybody. Otherwise it's a damage, VAR becomes a damage in this way. But this is not the first time. They have to improve a lot. When I stay at home and I see the image, I'm watching another game, for me it's easy to take the best decision.

"Instead, you see them take the opposite decision and I think maybe I don't know football or they're seeing other images."

Conte was shown a straight red card by referee Danny Makkelie for entering the field of play after Kane's goal was disallowed and he will serve an automatic one-match ban from the touchline and dressing room in Marseille.

The Italian accused Makkelie of wanting to do "double damage" and said officials have to appreciate the emotions of such significant moments.

"I was sent off because I came into the pitch. [It was] for this reason, but I see a lot of people coming into the pitch," Conte said.

"And we waited five minutes to see if the goal was disallowed. I didn't insult anyone. I came over the line onto the pitch, then quickly I came back. Also in this type of situation, maybe if I have to say something about the referee, because then the relationship with the referee was good.

"They have to understand it's an emotional moment. You are disallowing a goal after five minutes that we celebrated because for us it was qualification. Then if you are a bit...you have to understand, to come over, to speak, to send me back to the bench. You understand I was very close to the line. it means you want to create double damage."

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