Tottenham booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a resounding 6-1 win over Rochdale at Wembley.
VAR came into sharp focus once again as Spurs had two goals chalked off – one for Erik Lamela and the other a penalty after Heung Son-Min was penalised for illegal feinting in his run-up.
Rochdale nearly went 2-1 ahead after the restart but were denied by the base of the post.
However, Fernando Llorente, who was given a rare start, hit a hat-trick as the north London outfit romped to a 6-1 victory in snowy conditions.
And Pochettino revealed his delight for Llorente, as he said: “I’m so happy because the job is done, we are in the quarter-finals and that was our objective.
“I’m happy for different players, for Fernando [Llorente] with his hat-trick and Kyle Walker-Peters because he scored, and I think the performance was good.”
But he explained that VAR didn’t help matters, adding: “The first half was so difficult, it’s so difficult to stop and start and be focused on the game but in the end I’m happy with the result and now we’re in the quarter-finals.
“The first half was so difficult to maintain the focus because a lot of controversial decisions from the VAR but in the end I’m happy, in the second half we were focused on playing football and then we fully deserved it after the performance.”
Elaborating on the pitfalls with VAR, Pochettino said: “I took the players to keep focused at half-time.
“The circumstances were difficult. I think we have the best referees in Europe or the world but I don’t know if this system will help them or cause more confusion. It is a game of emotion.
“If we are going to kill this emotion I think we are going to change the game.
“It’s difficult for the referee – I feel so sorry for the referee and more I feel sorry for the fans because it’s so difficult to understand the situation.”
Pochettino’s counterpart, Keith Hill, expressed sympathy for the referee over VAR.
He said: “It was confusing. Now I have been a part of what VAR is, I feel sorry for the referee. I think the decisions need to be explained to the crowd. The visuals need to be used better.
“I hope that eventually they explain it to the supporters.”
Spurs will face Swansea in the last eight of the competition on March 17.
