Mark Clattenburg Insists VAR Decision to Disallow Serge Aurier Goal Was Correct Call

​Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg claims VAR came to the correct decision over Serge Aurier's disallowed Tottenham goal at Leicester on Saturday.

The Ivorian right-back thought he'd doubled Spurs' lead after a tidy bit of work from Tanguy Ndombele and Son Heung-min but a lengthy VAR check ruled out Aurier's strike after Son was adjudged to be 1.6cm offside when he received Ndombele's pass.

The decision sparked huge debate about the use of technology when it comes to such tight calls. However, Clattenburg, who was seen as one of the country's leading referees prior to his departure in 2017, says officials came to the right decision. 

In his MailOnl​ine Sport column, Clattenburg said: “If VAR tells us Son Heung-min was 1.6cm offside, then he is offside. We need to accept that if the camera shows a player to be offside, no matter how small the margin, then the decision will be given. 


“I have seen the argument that, in such tight situations, the on-field decision should be respected, like umpire’s call in cricket. But this is forgetting the fact that assistant referees have been told to keep their flag down and allow attacking phases to play out.


“As for the suggestion that the VAR system is not 100% accurate because of the frame rate, we have to accept that this is the best technology available right now and respect what it shows — even if that is 1.6cm offside.''

Ricardo Pereira,Jamie Vardy,James Maddison,Harvey Barnes

The decision, unsurprisingly, seemed to spur the home side on and they levelled soon after through Ricardo Pereira, who cancelled out Harry Kane's impressive first-half opener. 

With Spurs tiring, Leicester would go on to seal all three points - as James Maddison's strike beat Paulo Gazzaniga in the visiting goal five minutes from time.


Source : 90min