Video assistant referee or VAR as it’s more commonly known as is a recent addition to the beautiful game. Despite other sports such as rugby, tennis and cricket making use of available technology to help referees make accurate calls, football was a little slower to get with the times. Recent times have seen football associations across the world start to implement VAR into their games. The Australian A-League saw the first usage of VAR in a top-flight league before the rules of football were officially altered in 2018. The change, made by the IFAB was made in the hope that the system could remove some of the controversy surrounding the referee’s calls.
VAR hasn’t always been seen as an improvement however, some fans have bemoaned the time it takes for decisions to be reviewed or checked and in some cases, wild celebrations have been cut short by a VAR overruling. There have also been times where VAR has resulted in some questionable calls, prompting fans to ask whether the system is really worth it?
One thing’s for sure, it’s certainly added some drama in the short time it’s been around; here are five occasions where VAR has shocked the world.
Ronaldo Sees Red at the World Cup?
At the 2018 world Cup in Russia, most of us got to see VAR in action for the first time. It was a breath of fresh air for a lot of people, allowing referees to make the correct decisions and eliminating controversy. There were still issues, however, and in the group stage match between Iran and Portugal, many thought that Ronaldo should have received a red card. The Portuguese forward was seen to swing his elbow at a defender off the ball but even when reviewed, the referee still only gave a yellow card.
Manchester City’s Champions League Dreams Crushed
In the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, Manchester City thought they had sealed a place in the semi-finals. Raheem Sterling had the ball in the net against Tottenham in the 94th minute, leading the celebrations as the crowd went wild. The goal was ruled out due to an offside, however, and the fans were furious as the goal that put Tottenham through was itself contentious, goalscorer Llorente appeared to handle the ball.
England Miss Out on Nations League Final
During the semi-final of 2019’s Nations League, Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard thought he had secured England a place in the final after scoring against the Netherlands. Fans watching the game couldn’t believe it as VAR ruled the goal out for offside, the call was made after a lengthy review and Lingard only appeared to be a few millimetres offside at most, leaving fans furious.
Goalkeeper’s Penalty Save Overruled at the Women’s World Cup
2019 saw the world taking an interest in the women’s world cup which featured some controversy during Scotland vs Argentina. Scottish goalkeeper Lee Alexander made a dramatic penalty save in injury which looked to have helped her side win 3-2. VAR, however, judged that her foot was not touching the goal line when the kick was taken, ordering the penalty to be retaken. The resulting penalty was scored and Scotland were knocked out of the competition.
Manchester United Awarded a Penalty to Knock Out PSG
In the 2018/19 Champions League during the knock out stages, Paris Saint-Germain fans and star Neymar were left furious after a late handball call was given by VAR. Although the ball did strike the arm of the PSG defender, many thought it shouldn’t have been a penalty due to the lack of intent and that there was no way for him to avoid the ball. Manchester United scored the subsequent penalty and went on to knock PSG out of the competition.