Tottenham news: Ex-Fifa official swipes at ‘lazy refereeing’ as two new Man City controversies analysed
Keith Hackett has suggested referee Anthony Taylor and his assistants were guilty of “lazy refereeing” as Tottenham beat Man City 3-2 on Saturday (19 February).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee delivered his verdict after VAR had to intervene on key decisions at the Etihad.
Tottenham thought they had scored a third goal in the 77th minute after a smart finish from Harry Kane.
It was ruled out as Dejan Kulusevski was in an offside position when he launched the attack that led to Kane’s goal.
As shown by the BBC’s Match of the Day programme, Kulusevski was just yards away from the assistant referee who did not raise his flag.
VAR also had to intervene to award Man City for a handball by Cristian Romero in the closing stages.
“What we’ve seen in a number of officials is lazy refereeing because of VAR,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“It must be difficult, and I’ve not been in that position, where you’re thinking do I raise my flag or do I not raise my flag? Do I raise my flag early?
“This is the level that assistant referees have to be at now. If he puts his flag up and is wrong then he’s a human being and that’s what VAR is there for.
“It’s not there to correct errors, it’s there to determine accuracy in the decision-making process.
“Where credibility is being lost in England is the length of time it takes to get to these decisions. It’s magnified when you are in the stadium.
“I have a simple formula, if you can’t reach a decision within 30 seconds then it’s not a clear and obvious error so let’s move on.”
In other news, a club are plotting a raid to sign a Tottenham star Jose Mourinho called a ‘genius’ and £25million will seal the deal.