Pochettino Furious Over VAR Decision in Gold Cup Final

In today’s Concacaf Gold Cup final, USA coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed his frustration over referee’s decision — his team suffered a 2-1 defeat against Mexico.

The controversial moment occurred in the 66th minute with score tied at 1-1 — Mexico defender Jorge Sánchez touched the ball with his hand inside the penalty area, but both referee and VAR decided not to award a penalty.

“If this happened in the opposite box, I’m sure it would be a penalty. The player was on his knee and pushed his hand towards the ball. It’s embarrassing,” stated Pochettino.

VAR drama continued when Edson Álvarez’s goal in the 77th minute was initially ruled out for offside — however after video review, the goal was validated and became the match-winner for Mexico.

Similar cases occurred in previous matches:

• Martin Ødegaard’s handball incident in Arsenal versus Liverpool match
• Controversial moment in 2022 World Cup between Portugal and Uruguay involving José María Giménez