MANCHESTER CITY 4-3 TOTTENHAM (4-4)
VAR disallows Sterling's goal for 5-3; Llorente's goal was illegal
According to our resident ref Llorente's goal in the Champions League match between Man City and Tottenham should have been disallowed, while the VAR chalked off Sterling's tie-winning strike.
Two huge refereeing decisions were instrumental in Tottenham Hotspur's incredible away goals Champions League triumph over Manchester City this evening at the Etihad (4-3 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate), with a Fernando Llorente goal standing after a VAR review for hand-ball, and Sterling's late strike that would have sent Pep Guardiola's side through being chalked off for offside.
Our resident ref: Llorente's goal was handball
Fernando Llorente's goal against Manchester City, Tottenham's third of the night, should have been disallowed for handball, according to our resident referee Iturralde González. The ball hit the Tottenham striker's elbow after a deflection from a defender before going in.
"It hits his hand first then his hip and the UEFA instructions are clear: you can't score if it hits your hand, even if its involuntary. It doesn't matter if the elbow is tight to the body. If it happens to a defender it's not a penalty, but if it's an attacker it has to be disallowed. Rossetti has told the UEFA referees", said our referee.
Iturralde added: "Irrati (the VAR) - the number one VAR official - advises Çakir because he's seen a hand. When Çakir comes back from seeing the images he tells the players 'I didn't see anything. It hit his thigh.' They didn't play him the view from behind where you can see it hits the elbow. The error from the VAR is not showing the two key images. Why? The question is getting it right, not how long it takes."
Our resident ref's conclusion: "Manchester City are out because the VAR wasn't used properly".
The match referee, Cüneyt Çakir, gave the goal as valid in real time, before being advised to review it by the VAR. Having viewed the replays from the available angles, and clearly seeing the ball hit Llorente's arm, then his hip before going in, the Turkish referee indicated the goal stood. That put the score at 4-3 and 4-4 on aggregate, with Tottenham going through on away goals.
VAR reviews Sterling potential winner
The VAR was involved right at the end of the match too, when in the 93rd minute Sterling scored what would have made it 5-3 after a lightning move from City after Erikson lost the ball. However the goal was disallowed for an offside from Agüero in the build-up, with the VAR directly making the call from the VOR, it being an objective situation. With the goal chalked-off Tottenham would go on to hold out for the away-goals win. Tottenham now play Ajax in the semi-finals.
