Antonio Conte demands VAR improvement after Chelsea are denied 'very clear' penalty in FA Cup win

Antonio Conte was left fuming after Willian was denied a penalty during Chelsea's FA Cup third-round replay win over Norwich on Wednesday, insisting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system made a "mistake" in not reviewing the incident.

Chelsea looked to have sealed a narrow 1-0 win against the Canaries at Stamford Bridge after Michy Batshuayi scored in the 55th minute.

But Jamal Lewis' added-time equaliser sent the FA Cup tie to extra-time where, within minutes, controversy struck for the hosts.

Willian appeared to be clipped in the box but referee Graham Scott immediately showed the Brazilian a yellow card for diving and gave a free-kick to Norwich.

Video official Mike Jones did not think Scott had made a clear and obvious error and so the incident was not sent to VAR for review.

But had Jones ruled otherwise, Scott could have changed the decision based purely on his word or watched the incident again on a nearby screen.

With Chelsea ultimately not being awarded a penalty for the incident, they were forced to go to a shoot-out, which they won 5-3 to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

On Tuesday night, Kelechi Iheanacho saw one of his goals against Fleetwood Town wrongly ruled out for offside but then given following the use of VAR, and Conte believes the new technology should have been used to award Willian a penalty.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Conte said: "I think that we need to improve if we want to use this new system. There is a situation very clear with Willian at the start of the first period of extra-time.

"I watched it and this is a penalty. Very clear. But this is not because I'm not happy with a referee's decision. The referee took quickly a decision to book Willian. That means you don't have doubt. If you do this quickly, it means you don't have doubt.

"Instead, I repeat, if we want to improve – it's only to try and improve the system – we have to wait to check with the person who is watching the game and then, if this person is sure 100% that it is simulation, go and book Willian.

"For me, this is not the right solution if the referee doesn't refer a doubtful decision. The final decision stays with the referee on the pitch, not the one watching the game.

"But it's only because we want to try and use this new system, and this is my opinion to help the referee use this new system. We have been using it in Italy for six months, and you can reduce a lot the referee's mistakes."

He added: "I watched it [the penalty appeal replay] in the changing-room, and I think it was very clear. It was a big mistake.

"But I repeat, I don't want to know why. At least to avoid a big mistake, you have to call the referee and tell him: 'Look, maybe this situation there is a doubt.

"If we want to use a new system, I can't accept a big mistake. In this case, the Willian penalty was a big, big mistake. Not from the referee on the pitch, but from the person watching the game.

"If you're watching the game and don't see this situation... I hope the VAR wasn't a referee because if you see that watching on television and don't think that's a penalty... He has to improve and must improve."