Roberto De Zerbi gives realest take on Arsenal and West Ham VAR controversy

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi has given his verdict on the VAR saga involving West Ham United and Arsenal.

The Hammers had a 95th-minute equaliser disallowed during their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday after a foul on goalkeeper David Raya.

Jean-Clair Todibo was seen pulling Raya’s shirt as he contested a corner, while striker Pablo Fornals appeared to dig his arm into Raya’s neck.

There have been differing views over whether the decision was correct, although Danny Murphy, speaking on Match of the Day, claimed there would not have been as much discussion about the incident had it not involved Arsenal.

West Ham are reportedly set to launch a complaint with Professional Game Match Officials Limited over the decision.

Former top-flight official Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports that VAR made the “right decision”, explaining:

> “When you watch it, there is so much going on and so much to look at.

What happens is you have to go in chronological order… the first foul is definitely by Pablo.”



De Zerbi on Arsenal and VAR

Spurs boss De Zerbi was asked about the incident after his side’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night.

Spurs were ultimately on the receiving end of two VAR decisions during the match, as Leeds were awarded a penalty for Mathys Tel’s high boot before being denied a spot-kick in injury time after a coming together between James Maddison and Lukas Nmecha.

That meant the topic of VAR took on even greater significance during De Zerbi’s post-match press conference, with the Italian referencing the incident involving Raya.

> “I think the officials were not calm today,” he said. “Maybe they suffered from the pressure of yesterday’s West Ham and Arsenal game and the VAR controversy.

“For sure, we suffered from the pressure today because of the speed of the ball and the order on the pitch. We didn’t play with passion when we had the ball. We were frenetic.

“But also, the referee was not calm today. I can’t understand the controversy about yesterday’s VAR decision because Raya was fouled — 200 per cent. Not 100 per cent. 200 per cent. If you want to speak about football.”