“It was very weird” – Watford boss left fuming with VAR decisions

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has reacted after Tottenham Hotspur’s late equaliser cost his side their first Premier League win of the season.

Tottenham looked to be heading to their 15th defeat in their last 30 games in all competitions until a defensive mix up between Ben Foster and Kiko Femenia saw Dele Alli control the ball on his chest and finish from a tight angle to level the score.

The goal was reviewed by VAR officials who mistakingly showed the decision as ‘no goal’ on the giant screens after referee Chris Kavanagh had already signalled a goal.

Watford went in front in the first half when a long ball caught Danny Rose out of position, which allowed Daryl Janmaat in down the right and his pin-point cross was finished well by Doucoure from inside the penalty area.

The Watford boss felt that Tottenham’s goal should not have stood for an incident in the build up to the equaliser.

He told The Guardian: “In my opinion there was a foul by [Harry] Kane on [Christian] Kabasele in the buildup [to Alli’s goal],” the Watford manager said. “It was very weird. I thought VAR was supposed to be helping football but if we are talking just about this part of the game it was very weird.”

Sanchez Flores can also feel hard done by that his side were not awarded a penalty in the first half when Jan Vertonghen made contact with Gerard Deulofeu in the area, only for VAR to wave away the claims from the Hornets.

“You probably saw [the penalty incident] more times than me, but I saw it many times and in my opinion it’s very clear, it’s a penalty,” he added.

“If you can stop the imagination it’s very clear to see.

“I have no idea what they reviewed, I don’t know how they work. I thought that VAR was something objective but I’m starting to think it’s something very subjective again.”

When asked about the decision to show the ‘No Goal’ message in contrast to the referee’s instructions, he added: “It’s very difficult to know what happened in secret.”

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