Uefa have defended their VAR procedure after Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by a controversial Tottenham Hotspur goal.
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It initially appeared that the ball had hit his hip and bounced past City keeper Ederson.
But at least two different camera angles proved that the ball struck Llorente on the elbow, ricocheting onto his hip and then into the net.
Referee Cuneyt Cakir reviewed the goal on the pitchside monitors, and it is unclear exactly which angles he was shown.
The BT Sport feed repeatedly showed the incident from the same angle, face on and from a distance.
A closer view from a more square-on angle only seemed to be shown once – but it was the crucial angle which proved the handball.
Cakir’s repeated checks could only be to see whether there was a hand involved – after satisfying himself, he turned away and patted his hip, as if to rule out a handball.
Former Premier League ref Mark Halsey said the goal should have been disallowed for handball, and was puzzled as to why the relevant angle was not shown to the referee.
BT Sport pundit and former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand agreed that it should have been handball.
Some City players were furious at the failure to spot the handball, with Fernandinho slamming open a door in the mixed zone and proclaiming “F*** VAR” when reporters asked him for a word.
Under a clarification of the handball rule which will come into force next season, the goal would almost certainly have been ruled out - if the handball was spotted by the referee.
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VAR was introduced in the Champions League knockout phase this season and is operated by a video assistant referee, his assistant and two video operators.
MEN Sport asked Uefa who makes the decision on which angles the referee sees but they have offered no answer as yet.
They indicated that there is a dialogue between the referee and the VAR – and that he control room has every available camera feed.
That leaves open the question as to why the referee repeatedly watched an angle from which the handball was not apparent.
A Uefa spokesperson simply said when asked to comment: “All relevant angles were made available to the referee to take his decision last night.”
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