Antonio Conte was left furious at the end of Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League match against Sporting on Wednesday after a VAR decision denied his side the chance to progress to the knockout stages.
Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but thought they had won the game when Harry Kane scored an injury-time winner. Conte and his players exploded into wild celebrations, only for their joy to be short-lived as the referee consulted the video assistant referee and eventually ruled the goal out for offside.
The win would have sent Tottenham through to the last 16. Instead, they need to travel to Marseille next week and avoid defeat to advance.
"This decision creates a big damage, I hope the club understands this," said Conte, who was shown a red card for his protestations. "I think the club has to be strong. I repeat that this situation creates a big damage.
"I would like to see if you can take this type of decision with a top team in an important game. I would like to see if VAR is so brave to take this decision.
"The ball is in front of Kane. I'm sorry but I'm really upset because you can assess the situation. I don't see honesty in this type of situation. When I don't see this, I become really upset."
Tottenham, who began the match on the back of successive Premier League defeats, were poor in the first half against Sporting and the visitors' took a deserved lead in the 22nd minute when former Spurs player Marcus Edwards was given time to line up his shot and he duly beat Hugo Lloris with a sweetly-struck shot.
Tottenham were vastly improved after the break and peppered the Sporting goal in their desperate search for an equaliser with keeper Antonio Adan making sharp saves from Eric Dier, Son Heung-min, and Matt Doherty.
Tottenham v Sporting player ratings
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TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris – 5. The Frenchman should have done better when faced with Edwards’ low shot, having had sight on it from distance. Later, he abandoned his goal to keep Gomes out but luckily the Sporting player was offside. Getty Images -
Cristian Romero – 6. Returned from muscle fatigue but questions will be raised if he gave Edwards too much time and space on the ball to shoot for his goal. Sensing a need to pick up the intensity in the second half, Romero was running into the final third and getting stuck into challenges. Booked. AP Photo -
Eric Dier – 5. The England international looked below par in the first half, being left behind after failing to intercept Paulinho in the build-up to Edwards' goal. He had several opportunities in the second half to score, including a header going wide in the last minute. Getty Images -
Ben Davies – 5. The Welshman continues to be rotated in the starting eleven with Lenglet and he struggled to deal with Sporting’s attacking threats. AP Photo -
Matt Doherty – 6. Handed his first Champions League start, he had several moments in the first half moving forward but was unable to make things connect. He fired over after half-time after the ball fell to him, and forced Adan into a good save later on. Getty Images -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6. The Denmark international returned after missing the Newcastle game and tried to influence play. However, when it mattered, he was unable to stop Edwards in the run up to the opener. PA -
Rodrigo Bentancur – 7. Scored his first Champions League goal to draw his side level, jumping the highest to meet a corner into the box to reward Spurs’ efforts after half-time. He was unable to score a second to win the game when another effort flew over the crossbar. Getty Images -
Ivan Perisic – 6. The Croatian struggled to deal with Porro on the wing and to find the end product from his attacks. He improved in the second half and sent in what was thought to be the winning cross for Emerson Royal to head down for Kane to score. Getty Images -
Lucas Moura – 6. After a series of appearances from the bench since overcoming a calf injury, Moura was handed his first start of the season and looked lively, including being played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Reuters -
Son Heung-min - 5. The South Korean was finally able to get a shot away just before half-time when he was found by Kane on the left wing, forcing Adan into a low save. In the second half, he fired at Adan from a tight angle. Getty Images -
Harry Kane – 5. Brought into the game more in the second half, he thought he’d ended his Champions League goalless streak when he tapped in Emerson’s deflected header, only for a lengthy VAR check to rule it out for offside. PA -
SUBS: Bryan Gil (Doherty 71) – N/A. Quickly into action and spritely in Spurs’ attacking moves, Gil added energy and was part of every Spurs move. AP Photo -
Emerson Royal (Moura 81’) – N/A. Thought he had contributed the assist for the winning goal after meeting Perisic’s cross and heading into Kane’s path before the goal was ruled offside. PA -
Clement Lenglet (Davies 81’) – N/A. Part of a double change for Spurs to push on for the winner. PA -
SPORTING RATINGS: Antonio Adan – 7. The Sporting goalkeeper deserved to keep a clean sheet after making numerous saves, but he was unable to contest Bentancur's header for Spurs’ equaliser. AP Photo -
Goncalo Inacio – 7 As part of a back three, Inacio allowed Porro to roam forward while also contributing to his fair share of clearances and blocks. EPA -
Sebastian Coates – 7, The Sporting captain returned from injury and was a constant target for set-pieces, having his side’s first effort when he headed just wide of the far post from a corner. He then found the back of the net before his effort was disallowed for handball. Booked. Reuters -
Matheus Reis – 7. Calm under pressure when Spurs were pressing in the first half, Reis made several clearances and blocks and was kept busy as Spurs turned up the intensity. Reuters -
Pedro Porro – 8. A constant threat who caused problems on the right wing for Davies and Perisic, and who was equally good in defence. Getty Images -
Manuel Ugarte – 7. Caught out two Spurs players with a through ball to Edwards which set the striker on his way. Wasn’t shy committing the odd foul to stop Spurs’ intensity. Booked. PA -
Hidemasa Morita – 5. The quieter member of Sporting’s midfield, recording only 17 passes before he was substituted due to injury. Getty Images -
Nuno Santos – 6. The in-form left winger was his best in defence, constantly cutting out play on the wing. AFP -
Francisco Trincao – 6. The Barcelona loanee could have doubled Sporting’s lead amidst a period of Spurs pressure when he linked up with Morita before hitting his effort over. Getty Images -
Marcus Edwards – 8. The former Spurs youth product came back to haunt his old club when he played a one-two with Paulinho and skipped a challenge before unleashing a shot from distance to net the opener. Energetic throughout. Getty Images -
Paulinho – 7. Handed his first Champions League start, he wasn’t able to convert when Porro’s cross found him in the box, with his touch going just over the crossbar. He was crucial in the one-two to set Edwards off for the opener. AP Photo -
SUBS: Mateus Fernandes (Morita 62’) – 6. An injury-forced substitution but he was busier than the Japanese Morita midfielder and made several blocks. AP Photo -
Flavio Nazinho (Santos 62’) – 6. Forced Lloris into action when he was played in by Arthur Gomes but the Spurs goalkeeper was able to block. Should have scored at the second time of asking when he was given space but could only see his shot roll wide of the post. AFP -
Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Edwards 71’) – N/A. Tested Lloris in stoppage time as Sporting looked to find the winner, with his shot pushed wide. EPA -
Arthur Gomes (Trincao 71’) – N/A. Straight into action and lively after his introduction, shrugging off Romero and playing in Nazinho for a terrific opportunity to double their lead. AFP -
Jeremiah St. Juste (Paulinho 75’) – N/A. Read a ball to Son well in the second half to stop another fast break. Getty Images
The hosts eventually levelled with 10 minutes remaining when Ivan Perisic swung in a corner and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur rose highest to head powerfully past Adan.
There was still more drama to come with Lloris forced into action to deny substitute Fatawu Issahaku before Kane thought he had stolen it for the hosts.
"I think you can see from the celebrations we thought we won it. I don't really know what happened at the end," Tottenham defender Doherty told BT Sport.
"I thought because it went backwards and hit a defender it was a different phase of play. I'll have to look at the rule book. A few of us don't have a clue what happened."
