C helsea manager Maurizio Sarri was left frustrated after Harry Kane's controversial winner in Tuesday's League Cup defeat to Tottenham. Kane scored from the spot in the 26th minute after being scythed down by Kepa Arrizabalaga, with the video assistant referee ruling the England striker had stayed onside in the build-up. TV replays appeared to back up that decision, with Kane appearing onside before racing onto Toby Alderweireld's lofted through pass. But Sarri pointed to Chelsea's own footage from an alternative angle, which appears to show Kane's head in an offside decision moments before he won the decisive penalty. And Sarri said: "A few minutes ago I watched the video from our camera. It was offside. Our camera was in line with Harry Kane. "Offside with his head, the knee. Offside. It was really important the linesman carried on running, he had a big impact on our defenders." "I don't think English referees are able to use the system. If you are not sure with the system, you have to follow the ball and at the end of the action decide. "But he stopped and didn't follow the ball - for our defenders it was offside. "It's very strange in the Premier League there isn't VAR and in Carabao Cup there is the system." Was Harry Kane offside? Have your say in our poll below... TODO: define component type apester<doc-sep>Once you have subscribed we will use the email you provided to send you the newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter email. Tottenham's 1-0 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final was earned in rather controversial fashion. The infamous VAR system intervened on an initial offside call to hand Tottenham a penalty after Harry Kane was brought down by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Referee Michael Oliver was waiting for the technology to confirm whether the England striker was offside in the build-up. Sky Sports' cameras appeared to show Kane being played just onside by Marcos Alonso, however, certain other angles suggested the 25-year-old was leaning offside. The term 'fine margins' certainly comes to mind, with Maurizio Sarri and his team actually showing their own images on a laptop after the game with Kane slightly offside. It's yet another VAR debacle and there will surely be many more when the technology is implemented in the Premier League next season. Rory Smith, a journalist for the New York Times, has decided to take it upon himself to share some much-needed perspective on the whole debacle. He's pointed out that if the margins being argued about are so fine, then the offside law as a whole has taken on a new meaning. You can read his five-tweet thread below. TWEETS https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1083300373195079685 https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1083300375346757632 https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1083300377255182336 https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1083300379067064320 https://twitter.com/RorySmith/status/1083305739479855104 The core concept of the offside law was to prevent strikers goal-hanging and in a way, that's how it should still be. If we're requiring such high levels of technology to assess a situation and still not finding an answer which is correct in the eyes of everyone, then the meaning of the law has been lost. After the game, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino even voiced his discontent with VAR. "I don't like the VAR," he said, per BBC. "Today we get the benefit of it but after watching the World Cup and another league like La Liga, I see that nobody is happy from day one that they started to use it. "To get the benefit is nice but I am unhappy to win the game like this. "We all have to agree - the players, the coaching staff. I watch La Liga every week and nobody is happy, the big clubs and the small clubs. If you are playing to win the title or to stay up, nobody is happy. "That is a good example for us. We have six months to improve the system and there is a lot of work to do." News Now - Sport News<doc-sep>SO VAR, so good? Or not? Mauricio Sarri’s moans after Chelsea were VAR’d out of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Wembley were echoed by the Blues fans. 6 Harry Kane appeared to be just onside in the footage used to reach a decision via VAR Credit: Sky Sports 6 Chelsea boss Sarri had a different angle of the offside on a laptop Credit: Sky Sports Even Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted he did not like the technology - at least the Argentine was consistent after voicing similar concerns when VAR calls went against his team against Rochdale and Swansea in the FA Cup last term. And while VAR is supposed to ensure fewer wrong calls, events at Wembley did appear to prove that it will NOT eradicate contentious, and arguably poor, decisions. Chelsea were certainly convinced that Harry Kane was offside when Toby Alderweireld clipped over the top, although there was no denying the England skipper was wiped out by the bullocking charge of Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. But with the assistant following Fifa directives and not raising his flag immediately, Oliver rightly went to his VAR officials for clarification. 6 The penalty decision was clear at least - even though some people still accused Harry Kane of diving Credit: Getty Images - Getty Maurizio Sarri says VAR is a disaster after Tottenham v Chelsea Carabao Cup tie The angles available to Simon Kavanagh and his team at Stockley Park - the Premier League’s match-day headquarters near Heathrow - showed just how tight it was. At the instant Alderweireld played forward, Kane’s feet were, marginally, behind Cesar Azpilicueta’s. With only a two-dimensional image available, and no suggestion from that angle that Kane was leaning forward, Oliver was told that the Spurs man was on-side. He then had to make a call on the spot-kick, which was converted. At the time, there did not seem too much dissent. The angles available were marginal, but seemingly clear. It was only after the match that Sarri revealed Chelsea’s analysis team had ANOTHER angle. Like all clubs in the Prem do these days, Chelsea had a high-angle berth in the camera gallery reserved for their in-house team. These images are usually used to slice and dice parts of games for analysis and tactical debriefs in the aftermath. Most clubs have a full team of analysts who utilise all video and technical data. Normally, because this footage is solely for the use of the club, and not made available to TV broadcasters, it is kept in-house and private. One suspects it would have been this time if it had not shown Kane’s torso seemingly leaning forward and ahead of the line made by Azpilicueta. Instead, Chelsea decided to release that material for public consumption, to reiterate their point that they had been robbed. 6 Maurizio Sarri was angry with the offside decision that led to Spurs' goal - and he is unlikely to be the last boss to complain about VAR Credit: Rex Features 6 The Tottenham star tucked away his penalty brilliantly Credit: Alamy Live News Cue outrage, amplified with many asking why the Chelsea angle had not been used by the VAR team. The answer to that is simple - it was Chelsea’s private property, which they subsequently chose to share. Prem ref bosses have also suggested that Chelsea’s freeze-frame, showing the ball as a blur, was taken slightly AFTER Alderweireld played the ball. At the actual point of contact, they believe, Kane would have been shown to be onside. But the furore does suggest more fine-tuning is required before fans, players and managers alike are going to be completely convinced of the accuracy and integrity of the VAR system. The camera used by VAR in this instance, to make the judgement call, was situated in a touchline position just outside the Chelsea box - in the area where most critical offside decisions occur. Chelsea’s very high defensive line - which had been breached by balls over the top twice before in the game - meant the key action took place in a the part of the pitch that was not being covered directly at right-angle by the cameras. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes that Eden Hazard is as good as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Even Chelsea’s own camera does not “prove” Kane was offside. That was situated on the half-way line but is still not straight on. Again, it only presents a two-dimensional image with no proof that the striker’s lean took him beyond Azpilicueta - although he probably was, by a fraction, in an offside position as his head and chest - not his arm - can be used to score. Was Kane offside? Possibly. Probably. We will never know conclusively. Of course, in the interests of fairness, we can guarantee Chelsea will be just as keen to show angles that suggest bad calls were made in their favour in the future. Can’t we… VAR is not the cure for all football’s ills. There will still be controversy. Just different controversy. It will be tweaked and fine-tuned. That is why it is being used in the domestic cups this season and not, until next term, in the Premier League. 6 Spurs were on the right end of this decision and took a one-goal lead into the second leg Credit: Getty Images - Getty Oliver and Kavanagh and the other officials followed the protocols to the letter. Using the information at their disposal, they made two correct decisions. But maybe there does need to be more cameras, especially on half-way, that are used. And if 2D images will always be contentious, perhaps more money needs to be spent to ensure there is an instant 3D animation available. Then there would be no - well, less - argument. What is certain, though, is that VAR is not the end of controversy. In the end, it still comes down to human error and interpretation. But, surely, it is better than the alternative. After all, Chelsea have had a few questionable calls go their way against Spurs over the years, including at Wembley…<doc-sep>The video assistant referee who made the decision to give Harry Kane onside in the critical moment during Tottenham Hotspur’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg victory over Chelsea on Tuesday night did not have access to another telling camera angle later identified by Maurizio Sarri. The Chelsea manager played the alternative angle - which showed that Kane’s torso had crossed the offside line - on a laptop for the benefit of broadcasters after the match. Sarri, whose club’s analytics team had found the fresh angle, said later: “From our position, he [Kane] was clearly offside. It depends where the camera is. If the camera is not in line it is difficult to judge whether he is offside or not.” The VAR for the semi-final first leg, based at the broadcast centre at Stockley Park, west London, was referee Chris Kavanagh, one of the country’s leading young officials and recently entrusted with last month’s Merseyside derby. He also gave the penalty for Newport County against Leicester City at the weekend in the FA Cup third round. Kavanagh was shown only the angle of the incident broadcast by Sky Sports during the game which was not, as Sarri later pointed out, in line with the last Chelsea defender, Cesar Azpilicueta. The angle that Sarri’s team had found was in line, showed the offside line at a right angle to the touchline. While Kane’s feet were onside, his upper body appeared to have crossed the line.<doc-sep>
Maurizio Sarri says Harry Kane was clearly offside as VAR intervened to give Tottenham a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. After Kane was upended by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga inside the area, an initial offside decision was overturned by VAR as replays seemed to show Kane onside. However, Chelsea's own footage seemingly shows Kane's upper body, was leaning over the line and was therefore offside, leaving Sarri claiming officials need to study the system better. Chelsea's head coach said: "I saw the video from our camera a few minutes ago, it was offside. Our camera was in line with Kane, and it was offside, but it's not important. Image: Was Kane offside? The angle shown by the VAR does not show Kane leaning over the line Image: But from Chelsea's footage, which Maurizio Sarri showed after the game, Kane's upper body is offside "With the head, it's offside. But it's not important. It was important that the linesman stopped the run, he didn't follow the ball, so he had a big influence on our defenders, and at the moment I think the English referees aren't able to use the system." He then said in his post-match press conference: "In Italy there is VAR, in the first period it was a disaster, difficult for the referee to use the system. At the moment here the refs are not ready to use it in the right way. Kane was offside, clearly offside, but it is not important. 3:03 Joe Cole and Robbie Keane analyse the VAR decision to award Tottenham a penalty "They need to study better the system. It is very strange in the Premier League there is not this system and then in Carabao Cup there is." Despite the defeat, Sarri insisted he was happy with his side's performance, having dominated the ball and had the better of the chances at Wembley. 3:42 Highlights of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg tie between Tottenham and Chelsea "I think we played very well, very well, with a great level of application and determination. We played against a very good team but defended very, very well. We played 70 balls in the opposing boss, for Tottenham only 10 balls. "We had 17, 18 shots, nine on target I think. We played really very well. In this moment for us it is not easy to score, but I am really very happy with my players for this match." Sarri opted to start 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi at Wembley after speculation linking him with a move to Bayern Munich. On the day Bayern lodged an improved £35m bid, Sarri was delighted with the forward's performance, and says the speculation has not impacted him. Image: Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi fires off a shot at goal "In the last week he has been very normal. I see him every day in training and he behaved normal. He is improving. In the last game he played very well, and also today a very good match. "He played like a player of 25, 26 years I think. A very good match with application and a very good defensive phase. But he was completely normal this week. Maybe he doesn't read anything!"