Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 Rochdale

Tottenham reached the FA Cup quarter-finals after surviving a scare against League One Rochdale in a fifth-round replay littered with video assistant referee controversies.

Amid persistent snow at Wembley, Fernando Llorente scored a 12-minute hat-trick early in the second half after Rochdale's Stephen Humphrys cancelled out Son Heung-min's opener.

Son added the fifth and substitute Kyle Walker-Peters the sixth yet the match will be remembered for a number of incidents involving VAR.

Erik Lamela thought he had given Spurs an early lead only for his goal to be ruled out for a foul - but only after lengthy consultation between referee Paul Tierney and his video assistant.

Then, with the hosts 1-0 up, Spurs were awarded a free-kick when Kieran Trippier was fouled only for Tierney to point to the spot after another VAR ruling. Son beat Josh Lillis but it was disallowed after he was adjudged to have stopped in his run-up before shooting.

Spurs will travel to face Swansea City in the sixth round on 17 March.

• 'Comical' & 'embarrassing' - pundits & fans react as VAR takes centre stage

• Football Daily podcast: 'VAR is embarrassing for football'

• Relive a remarkable night at Wembley

• VAR is a 'dangerous road', says Parish

VAR a huge talking point - again

VAR is being trialled in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season, and opinion on its success has been mixed.

The system was praised after correctly overturning a decision to rule out Kelechi Iheanacho's strike for Leicester in their 2-0 FA Cup win over Fleetwood last month but was called a "shambles" by Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer for failing to award Chelsea a penalty in their replay with Norwich.

Its influence on Wednesday's game at Wembley cannot be overstated.

At times, fans had no idea what was going on as the referee waited for instructions in his earpiece and the half-time whistle was greeted by a chorus of boos from home supporters.

Lamela's early goal was disallowed after the VAR ruled Llorente had pulled Harrison McGahey's shirt - but it took about a minute for the officials to reach their decision, by which time both teams had lined up for the game to restart.

After Son had fired Spurs ahead from 12 yards when he was afforded too much space, the hosts were awarded a penalty when Trippier was fouled by Matt Done. At first, the referee gave a free-kick on the edge of the area before pointing to the spot after another VAR delay.

Son scored from the spot but the celebrations were cut short when Tierney ruled it out without allowing it to be retaken because the South Korea forward, who was booked, had stopped in his run-up.

That sparked more jeers from fans as Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino looked on in disbelief.

Fortunately for for the home side, it did not ruin their night.

Son's disallowed penalty - what do the rules say?

During his run-up, Son stopped before taking one more step and hitting the ball into the net.

International Football Association Board rules state an indirect free-kick will be awarded to the defending team if a penalty taker feints to kick the ball after completing their run-up - although the rule adds "feinting in the run-up is permitted".

After making the decision to penalise Son, the referee booked the player and gave a free-kick to Rochdale - in line with the rules.

• No VAR in Champions League next season

Back to League One survival fight for Dale

Rochdale, who are bottom of League One, were well beaten, but their fans stayed to cheer their team off at the end of a cup run that started on 4 November in front of 2,241 fans against non-league Bromley.

It ended in front of 5,000 of their travelling fans at the national stadium as Tottenham's quality in the second half proved too much for Keith Hill's battling side.

This cup run has raised Rochdale's profile and boosted the club's finances with £202,500 in prize money as well as hundreds of thousands more in television revenue, sponsorship and gate receipts.

Their fans were even able to celebrate a goal that drew them level, Humphrys producing a delicious finish after an excellent first touch inside the Spurs penalty area.

At 1-1 Dale hit the post through Andrew Cannon, while Hill threw on 16-year-old schoolboy midfielder Daniel Adshead for the final 15 minutes.

Llorente finally comes good

Llorente has made just one Premier League start since a £12m move from Swansea last summer, and his hat-trick was a reminder of his threat.

His first, to put Spurs 2-1 ahead, was an excellent chip over Lillis, and after making it 3-1 six minutes later, the Spaniard headed home from six yards to claim the match ball.

Son tapped into an empty net following Lamela's cross to make it 5-1 before Walker-Peters' neat finish completed the rout.

Tottenham are yet to win a major trophy under Pochettino but they are now two games away from the final of the FA Cup, a competition they have won eight times.

Snow fell throughout the game making conditions tricky for both teams and a huge clearing up effort had taken place to ensure the game went ahead. During a stoppage in play towards the end, ground staff went onto the pitch with shovels to make lines in both penalty boxes clear

'Best referees in Europe' - what the managers said

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino: "It was a game we can talk about different things. It was so complicated because of the new system; it was difficult to keep focus on the game.

"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."

Rochdale manager Keith Hill: "I'm very proud. We've been beaten in a game of football but we've not lost. As a group of players they've been brave against Tottenham, in front of our loyal supporters.

"The first half was special. Tottenham are a marvellous and exceptional side and I hope they go on to win the FA Cup.

"It's complicated with VAR. It's not fair on the referee. The fourth official was explaining to us what was going on but the referee needs a bit of help. The visuals need to be used better. I hope that eventually they explain it to the supporters."

Man of the match - Fernando Llorente (Tottenham)

The striker finally delivered the goods to set up a quarter-final tie with his former club Swansea. It's been a tough start to life at Tottenham for the Spaniard, but this performance should help his confidence

What's next?

Tottenham return to Wembley on Saturday when they host Huddersfield (15:00 GMT) in the Premier League before welcoming Juventus in the Champions League next Wednesday.

Rochdale have 16 games to save themselves from relegation from League One, starting at home to Plymouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT).