Steven Bergwijn has denied Tottenham suffered from a mentality problem as a result of Thursday’s controversial VAR call against Sheffield United.
Spurs were denied a first-half equaliser when Lucas Moura was deemed to have handled the ball before Harry Kane struck. Lucas was seemingly fouled, and it was unclear whether the ball actually touched his arm.
The visitors struggled after the perceived injustice and shipped two more goals, seriously harming their chances of qualifying for the Champions League in the process.
After the game, Jose Mourinho questioned his players’ mentality (via the London Evening Standard) and called on the squad to “care and fight” for the remainder of the season.
The Spurs boss suggested the players failed to recover mentally from the VAR incident, but Bergwijn – who, it’s worth noting, was unaware of Mourinho’s comments as he was being interviewed at the same time – disagreed with the handball call’s impact.
“No, I don’t think like this. It is mixed feelings, but I don’t think it affected the players,” said Bergwijn (via Football London).
“When you concede a goal and equalise so quickly it is a good feeling, but it is disallowed, it’s really mixed feeling.”
Bergwijn was strangely substituted just 10 minutes into the second half despite being Tottenham’s most dangerous attacking player in the opening 45 minutes. Here’s hoping Mourinho gets his team selection and substitutes right against Everton on Monday.