Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that VAR ‘damages’ the Premier League after being left furious by a disallowed goal in his side's 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. Axel Disasi’s 95th-minute header was retrospectively chalked off after Benoit Badiashile was deemed to have fouled Diego Carlos.
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The Blues thought they had grabbed all three points right at the end of a pulsating second half. Conor Gallagher had dragged his side back into the game after they trailed 2-0 at half-time, registering an assist before floating home a stunning left-footed strike.
Disasi’s added-time header was initially allowed to stand by referee Craig Pawson. However, it was subsequently ruled out after VAR Chris Kavanagh invited Pawson to review a shoulder barge by Badiashile in the moments before Disasi found the net.
Angry Chelsea stars confronted Pawson to argue their case after full-time, with Noni Madueke shown a yellow card. Pochettino has slammed VAR, with two major decisions going against the Blues in the space of a week. The West Londoners wanted a penalty in last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City when Cole Palmer’s free-kick seemed to strike the hand of Jack Grealish.
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"Me and you and everyone in the stadium watching the game. They didn't see a foul on the pitch and then VAR changed the decision of the referee. For me that was a normal challenge. The decision was there and that's it,” Pochettino told BBC Sport.
"For me it damaged a little bit the Premier League and English [football]. If we want to be the best league in the world it should be protecting the spectacle and the decision.
“At Wembley for handball was a penalty against Manchester City and the referee didn't check and the VAR didn't advise the referee to see the incident.
"[The decision] damaged myself, damaged my team, my players, my fans. We are a young team. The performance was good. I'm so happy with the reaction."
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Vice-captain Gallagher brought up the decision after being asked about his goal, a beautiful arced strike into the top corner. The England international said: "Absolute swinger! I was happy with the goal and disappointed to not get the third.
"We had chances to win and we showed great character. The goal at the end should have counted, but it is not my decision. We can hold our heads high and take a lot of confidence from that.”
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League and have an outside chance of qualifying for European competition, harbouring at least a game in hand over most of the teams around them.
