It’s been an interesting 2018 FIFA World Cup, made even more interesting by the introduction of VAR. The tech has been met with mixed reviews, although all of them seem to agree that it has been very controversial thus far.
‘Clear and obvious’ still…unclear, and not obvious
This was an issue raised before the tournament, when they announced that VAR will be used. In the France – Australia game, the referee seemed to review Griezmann’s penalty a little too late, but that pales in comparison to the other potentially game-changing decisions that haven’t been given.
– Harry Kane’s WWE tangle in Tunisia’s box. Two corners, and twice Harry Kane was practically body-slammed into the ground. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but he was definitely hauled down in the penalty area, and the boys ‘upstairs’ didn’t even bother to review the incidents. Clear and obvious? To most, yes, but VAR was not in Kane’s favour that night.
– Red-faced Ronaldo. His blushes were spared by VAR. But the rules are clear as a cloudless day. Elbow to the face is a straight red, no doubt about that. And there we were, a pivotal moment in the game that Iran very much looked like winning, and the Portuguese captain somehow managed to get away with nothing more than a yellow card, and a customary smirk. Should he have been sent off by VAR? Clearly and obviously.
– Two-foot Pique. How. I mean, how did Gerard Pique get away with that. Two-footed challenge, unacceptable on a rainy day in Stoke, much less so at the World Cup. No review from upstairs, and Pique lives to dive another day.
But there was a sense of poetic justice when VAR popped up and sent Germany packing against an adamant South Korean side. Die Mannschaft never looked like scoring anyway, but an ‘offside’ goal was overturned after being reviewed, and following Manuel Neuer’s amazing disappearing act, Tottenham’s Son made it two, and that effectively ended Germany’s bid to retain the crown.
Here’s what’s been said about VAR so far:
Alan Shearer on Iran vs Portugal: “That was farcical, shambolic. The referee is a very lucky guy. If Iran score at the end it would have been absolute chaos. He was hopeless today.
“How on earth can he think that is a penalty?
“It is ridiculous. How can the defender do anything about that? He is half a yard away and his eyes are closed. There is no way on earth that is deliberate handball.
“You are playing in the biggest competition in the world and it seems like VAR is on trial and it is not right.”
Didier Drogba: “I am a big fan of VAR because it is going to clear up a lot of situations, but at the same time it is bringing a lot of controversy. You need to find the balance and we are still looking for that.
“You see the time it took him to have a look and make the decision. We all thought it was not a penalty because he had to review it a few times before awarding it.
“There is controversy because it is the referee who decides, so we will still criticise whatever decision he makes.”
Pablo Zabaleta: “I like VAR and if you get it right, that is great. What I did not like is the players’ behaviour – they are acting too much. After little contact, they were rolling around the floor, complaining to the referee.”
Going into the next round
After the Harry Kane tussle in the box, it seems as though the referee is having no more of it. Javier Mascherano was rightfully penalised after he was caught holding Leon Balogun in the box, but Marcos Rojo got away with what looked like a handball in the same game.
For the knockout stages, the heat will be turned up tenfold, and VAR cannot keep up its erroneous ways if it is going to succeed in being an effective tool for this tournament. They really need to clarify what a ‘clear and obvious’ error is to begin with, and perhaps even need to improve on the camera-based technology a little bit, to be able to determine more clearly if a decision was wrongly given.
The World Cup of 2018 is just getting warmed up, and it promises to be a real battle as we enter the latter stages.
