Mauricio Pochettino Slams VAR After Tottenham's FA Cup Win over Rochdale

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino believes video assistant referees (VAR) will drain the emotion from football after his side's 6-1 win over Rochdale in the FA Cup on Wednesday was impacted by the system. 

There were times when the contest between the two sides was chaotic, as a decision to award a free-kick to Spurs was then deemed a penalty and Heung-min Son's subsequent effort from the spot was ruled out for an illegal stop in his run-up. Erik Lamela also had a goal disallowed.

Despite his side's win, Pochettino expressed his frustration with the VAR setup. "Football is about emotion," he said, per Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail. "It is a contest of emotion, and if we are going to kill emotion in football, the fans, the people who love football, are not happy about what they saw."

The Spurs boss went on to say the current version of VAR is "embarrassing" and said everyone in the stadium was "confused." "Emotion is why you pay for the ticket, that is why you come to the game when the conditions are so bad," he added.

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During the match, supporters inside Wembley Stadium jeered the use of the video official; during stoppages in play to assess decisions, fans were pictured on camera looking confused by the processes being taken.

The Premier League's all-time top scorer Alan Shearer didn't hold back in his assessment:

Former Spurs player and Argentina international Osvaldo Ardiles suggested the process is in danger of ruining the purity of the sport:

Although teething problems were always anticipated following VAR's implementation into English football, it's got off to a rocky start.

In the FA Cup fourth-round showdown between Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion on January 27, a goal was ruled out for the Baggies, a penalty was awarded for the Reds and time was taken to award a third goal for the visitors in a 3-2 win.

Additionally, in the recent FA Cup meeting between Huddersfield Town and Manchester United, Juan Mata's goal was ruled out for a marginal offside call. As we can see here courtesy of ESPN's Alex Shaw, the following image was broadcast after that goal being chalked off, prompting widespread ridicule:

However, according to Richard Conway of BBC Sport, the system is set for worldwide implementation in the future following meetings between FIFA "lawmakers" in the coming days.

The Anfield Wrap's Rob Gutmann believes the system has its merits:

Serie A and the Bundesliga are both using VAR in their respective leagues, and while the system is far from flawless in Italy and Germany, it appears more streamlined than the instances witnessed in English football so far.

VAR is set to be utilised on the biggest stage of all in the summer, with the system available in every match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN FC) official confirmation is set to be given the go-ahead on Saturday at the FIFA summit.