Pat Nevin newsletter: Spurs brilliance after Var-cical opener shocks Man City

Submitted by daniel on
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I watched the Tottenham v Manchester City draw, mostly with my mouth wide open in the second half as an abject Spurs, from nowhere, dominated City. My chin was on the floor for Dominic Solanke's genius equalising scorpion kick. However, my shock had also yet to recede following Spurs' opener.

It initially looked a good goal. Then the replay showed clearly from one angle, that Solanke had not kicked the ball, he had kicked Marc Guehi's foot onto the ball, which then put the ball in the net.

There is this rule in football which you might be aware of, you are not allowed to kick an opponent, you are supposed to kick the ball. Somehow the VAR thought it perfectly acceptable - what?!

Then an array of pundits, well the ones who spotted it, started to agree it was a perfectly good goal. I must admit I began to wonder if I was missing something, but I looked again and no.

Yes, strikers put their foot in between a defender and the ball to take a hit to win a penalty sometimes, but that is totally different.

On those occasions the forward initiates the contact deliberately. Guehi was going for the ball and got to it ball first. Allowing the goal may well be my least favourite VAR moment of the season, and that is saying something.

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