Manager Morinho “If there was VAR, we scored”
Team wins 3-1… Advance to the quarterfinals
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min (left) competes with Stoke City’s Tommy Smith. EPA Yonhap News
‘100’ is a special number in the human society using the decimal system. The same is true in the world of sports, so the 100th record gives more meaning. Therefore, recently Tottenham fans of the English Premier League (EPL) and Korean soccer fans have been eagerly awaiting the news of Son Heung-min (28) goal. Son Heung-min scored the 99th goal for Tottenham in the EPL game against Liverpool on the 17th. With just one more goal, you reach a meaningful 100th record. In particular, expectations were higher ahead of the 2020-2021 Carabao Cup quarterfinal match against Stoke City in Stoke on Trent, UK on the 24th. It was thanks to Son Heung-min being a team in the second division that was relatively uncomfortable to score goals.
This expectation seemed to have come true for a while. Son Heung-min, who was put into the game at the start of the second half, got a pass from Harry Kane in the 31st minute ahead of 2-1, and digs into the left side of the penalty area to get a good shot with his right foot. Shook. It seemed that Tottenham had finally scored his 100th goal.
Unfortunately, the score was not recognized. The referee makes an offside decision to Son Heung-min who receives Kane’s pass. At the moment of the pass, an opponent on the other side of Son Heung-min was in a more advanced position, so it was an obvious misjudgment that would be corrected through video reading (VAR) as usual, but the decision was not reversed. The Carabao Cup is due to the fact that VAR is held only at the home stadium of the EPL team, which is fully equipped until the quarterfinals.
Five minutes later, Kane’s key goal allowed Tottenham to win 3-1 and advance to the quarterfinals. However, the goal of Son Heung-min, who had been waiting the most for the coming, was canceled, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste. Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho said, “If there was a VAR, Son Heung-min’s goal would have been recognized as a goal.”
Meanwhile, in the 2020-2021 French League match on the same day, Bordeaux’s Hwang Hee-jo (28) made the second goal of the season in the home game against Reims. He scored a pass from Hatem Ben Arfa in the second half of the 28th minute after falling 0-2. In particular, after the transfer to Bordeaux, Hwang Hee-jo, who was employed as a wing forward and struggled with adaptation, made a goal as a one-top striker, his original position, making it even more meaningful. Bordeaux lost 1-3.
Reporter Pilwoong Seo
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