The Premier League’s VAR system was back in the spotlight at Chelsea on Saturday after officials admitted they had made a mistake by not recommending a red card for Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
The Argentine appeared to stamp on Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s shin as Spurs lost 2-1 in a battle for fourth place.
Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham
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But after a check for possible violent conduct by the video-assisted officials, Lo Celso escaped without censure.
Referee Michael Oliver, who did not even brandish a yellow card for the tackle, did not view a pitchside monitor.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, who last Monday criticised a VAR decision not to send off Manchester United’s England defender Harry Maguire for planting his foot in the groin of Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi, held his head in disbelief.
SEEING RED: Blues’ Frank Lampard. Picture: WILL OLIVER/EPA
As the game continued, a television presenter said officials at the VAR offices in Stockley Park had admitted their error.
BT Sport’s Jake Humphrey said on Twitter: “We have been speaking to Stockley Park who have admitted they got the decision wrong and Lo Celso should have been sent off.”
Despite his side winning thanks to strikes from Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso, with Antonio Rudiger scoring an own goal a minute from time, Lampard says: “I was just waiting for the red card to be shown.
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“It’s just not good enough. Saying afterwards they made a mistake is not good enough.
“They had... a couple of minutes they took to try and get it right.
“The whole world saw that. I hate to stand here and call [for] a red card, but that is a leg breaker.
“I am not saying anything about the referee on the spot, because it is hard there, but it is not good enough.”
The win kept Chelsea in fourth on the log, with Spurs in sixth.