Hi every one on steemjet World Cup am glad to bring to your notice that the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup has come to an end and have progressed in to the knock out stage. To day we will look at the major incident and decisions made by the video assistant referee(VAR).
The use of video assistant referee(VAR) is being rolled out for the first time at the World Cup and some decisions were made that I think were correct, incorrect, wrong, and unjust. Let us look at the game the VAR was used.
SWITZERLAND VS COSTA RICA
Towards the end of Costa Rica's clash with Switzerland, the Ticos were up in arms over a penalty call when Bryan Ruiz was felled in the area. Upon video review, however, it was deemed that Ruiz had been in an offside position when receiving the ball, leading to play being brought back for a Switzerland free-kick.
I can say that was a good call and decision made by VAR
South Korea vs Germany -
Reigning champions Germany were eliminated at the group stage and had salt rubbed in their wounds by VAR, as an overturned offside decision ensured that their exit at the hands of South Korea.
Joachim Low's side desperately needed a victory to progress but, despite their best efforts, struggled to break the Koreans down and were undone in added time.
When Heung-min Son's corner ricocheted off a number of players on its way to Young-Gwon Kim at the back post, the Guangzhou Evergrande man needed no second invitation to fire past Manuel Neuer.
Referee Mark Geiger initially disallowed the goal, citing offside, but after inspection from the VAR team it turned out that the ball hit off Niklas Sule on its way to Kim and the decision was correctly overturned.
Mexico vs Sweden -
Sweden needed a win over Mexico in order to book their place in the last 16 of the tournament and they were disappointed not to be awarded a penalty on the half-hour mark when the ball appeared to hit the arm of Javier Hernandez in the box.
Argentine referee Nestor Pitana refused Swedish pleas for the striker to be penalised and, after consulting the VAR, stuck with his initial decision.
Nigeria vs Argentina –
Nigeria were 1-1 with Argentina heading into the final quarter of the game when Ahmed Musa's cross is deflected into the air, where it was headed by Marcos Rojo onto his own arm.
The Super Eagles called for a penalty and after much deliberation on the pitch, the referee consulted with the VAR – and decided that there was no spot-kick to be given.
Iran vs Portugal –
Portugal were leading 1-0 up against Iran heading into stoppage time before Sardar Azmoun headed the ball down onto Cedric Soares' arm from close distance.
The referee awarded the penalty to Iran despite the fact that the contact was unintentional, and VAR confirmed the spot-kick.
Saudi Arabia vs Egypt -
After Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, the oldest player in World Cup history, made a fantastic penalty save in the 41st minute, Saudi Arabia were awarded a second chance from the spot just six minutes later.
Fahad Al-Muwallad went down in the box under minimal contact from Egypt defender Ali Gabr with both players pulling their opponent's shirt and, after a VAR review, the call was upheld and Gabr was awarded a yellow card.
Salman Al Faraj stepped up and buried the penalty, giving Saudi Arabia their first goal of the 2018 World Cup.
Germany vs Sweden –
Sweden's Marcus Berg was seemingly through on goal after a loose ball but was deliberately fouled by Jerome Boateng for Germany. The Swede stumbled in the box after contact was made for what should have been a clear penalty given, and yet the ref made no motion to stop play to consult with the VAR.
Belgium vs Tunisia -
Eden Hazard collected the ball on the edge of the area and dribbled towards goal, before Syam Ben Youssef lunged in carelessly.
Hazard, of course, went down, and the referee pointed to the spot, despite Ben Youssef claiming that the contact was outside the box.
VAR subsequently looked at the decision, and decided that the contact did take place in the area. Hazard stepped up to score the penalty and give the Red Devils a deserved 1-0 lead.
Serbia vs Switzerland -
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored Serbia's opening goal against Switzerland, but was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in the second half.
While jumping for a header, Mitrovic was grabbed by Swiss defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schar, who dragged the striker to the ground.
Referee Felix Brych inexplicably waved play on, and Serbia went on to lose 2-1, with Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri turning the game around.
Nigeria vs Iceland -
A fantastic double from Ahmed Musa saw Iceland trail Nigeria in their second game of the tournament.
Needing a miracle to keep them in the game, their prayers were seemingly answered by the almighty VAR when it intervened with less than 10 minutes left to award a penalty for Tyronne Ebuehi's foul on Alfred Finnbogason.
Replays showed that the penalty was the right call as the striker, who netted the decisive equaliser against Argentina, had been clipped.
However, Iceland threw the chance away when Gylfi Sigurdsson sent it far off target, allowing Nigeria to move up to second in Group D.
Brazil vs Costa Rica -
With time running out in Brazil's clash with Costa Rica, Neymar fell over inside the penalty area and the referee initially pointed straight to the spot.
However, after a VAR review, the referee overturned his decision - much to the Paris Saint-Germain forward's anger.
Brazil ultimately recovered from the decision to score in stoppage time thanks to Philippe Coutinho and Neymar and triumph 2-0.
Denmark vs Australia -
Youssef Poulsen found himself at the centre of a second incident involving VAR in Denmark's second game of the tournament, which resulted in the awarding of a penalty to Australia.
With the Danes leading the game 1-0 thanks to a Christian Eriksen volley, Poulsen was penalised for an apparent handball in the box.
While defending a set-piece, the ball hit off the forward's arm and opinion is divided as to whether he meant it or not.
Either way, referee Antonio Mateu did not hesitate to use the video assistant and decided that it was indeed a handball worthy of punishment, giving a penalty.
Unfortunately for Denmark there was no repeat of the Peru incident, as Mile Jedinak dutifully stepped forward to accept the advantage and put the ball beyond Kasper Schmeichel's reach, into the back of the net.
Iran vs Spain -
There was bedlam in the Iran camp an hour into their clash with Spain, when Saeid Ezatolahi smashed past David de Gea in an apparent equaliser for the Middle-Eastern nation. The celebrations had already started, but as the scorer was mobbed by the entire Iran squad, VAR had already picked up on a marginal offside in the build-up and the goal was overruled.
Tunisia vs England –
England were leading 1-0 in their opening World Cup fixture against Tunisia before Kyle Walker seemingly brought down Fakhreddine Ben Youssef inside the box.
The referee pointed straight to the spot without checking the VAR to make sure, and Ferjani Sassi converted to make it 1-1.
What has seemed to bring about controversy is the fact that Kane appeared to have been pulled down more aggressively than Ben Youssef in the Tunisia box moments later, with no VAR consultation or penalty given.
Even with VAR, England fans seem to think that the refereeing in the tournament has been inconsistent and that the referee should have checked it properly before giving the initial penalty – as well as failing to give the same decision for two similar courses of action.
Kane was brought down again in the second half the same manner in which Croatia got a penalty for against Nigeria, though once again VAR was not consulted.
Sweden vs South Korea –
Sweden got their World Cup campaign off to a
winning start against South Korea thanks to a VAR-assisted penalty and their Asian opponents can have little to complain about as it was the correct call.
When substitute Kim Min-woo appeared to scythe Viktor Claesson in the box shortly after the hour mark referee Joel Aguilar was not interested in Swedish appeals for a penalty, but the VAR cohort were soon in his ear about it. And, after reviewing the incident, he awarded the penalty.
Brazil vs Switzerland -
As Brazil chased victory in their opening game against Switzerland they had claims for a penalty denied and referee Cesar Ramos did not feel that there was sufficient doubt to warrant the consultation with VAR.
Gabriel Jesus went down after seeming to be impeded by Manuel Akanji in the box, but Ramos had no interest in the claims and waved play on. However, the decision was not too controversial in the end as, unlike some other incidents, replays appear to back up the official's judgement.
Costa Rica vs Serbia -
Serbia got their World Cup 2018 odyssey off to a winning start against Costa Rica thanks to Aleksandar Kolarov's stunning free kick, but they could have finished the game with 10 men after the intervention of VAR.
Aleksandar Prijovic was barely on the pitch a few minutes when he found himself at the centre of a VAR review for striking Costa Rica's Johnny Acosta, who threw himself to the ground in apparent pain.
Referee Malang Diedhiou asked to see the incident again and, having watched the footage briefly, returned to the pitch to sanction Prijovic with a yellow - instead of red - card.
Argentina vs Iceland -
Argentina got their World Cup campaign off to a disappointing start as they were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw against tournament newcomers Iceland in their opening match and there was a controversial penalty claim waved away without consulting VAR.
The Albiceleste took the lead through Sergio Aguero but were pegged back almost immediately by Alfred Finnbogason. They looked certain to move in front once more when Maxi Meza won a penalty in the second half, but Lionel Messi could not direct his spot-kick past Hannes Halldorsson.
With time running out, substitute Cristian Pavon appeared to be fouled inside the box by Birkir Saevarsson, but a second penalty was not awarded by the unmoved Szymon Marciniak, prompting disbelief among the Argentine players.
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France vs Australia -
The first-ever use of VAR at the World Cup occurred on the third day during the Group C encounter between France and Australia .
With nearly an hour played and the score locked at 0-0, Antoine Griezmann went to ground in the box following a tackle by Josh Risdon, but referee Andres Cunha wasn't ready to award a penalty to Les Bleus until the VAR intervened to advise him that it was indeed a foul.
A number of minutes passed as Cunha reviewed the footage and overturned his initial decision before Griezmann stepped up to fire France into the lead. Soon after the penalty Australia were awarded a spot-kick themselves, which Aaron Mooy converted, but they left Kazan with nothing to show for their efforts thanks to a fortunate 80th-minute goal from Paul Pogba.
Senegal Vs Colombia
Now this match and that of Nigeria Vs Argentina made me write this post. Sardio Mane was brought down at the box while going for goal to what clearly looked like a foul but VAR intervened and no penalty kick was awarded and Senegal ended up losseing to Colombia which also cost their exist in the tournament.
THE BIG QUESTIONS
*** IS THE VAR DECISIONS EVEN 70% CORRECT ?
*** DOES VAR FAVOUR ONLY THE BIG NATIONS?
*** WHY HAVE THE DECISIONS OF VAR NOT GONE IN FAVOUR OF AN AFRICAN TEAM?
*** CONSIDERING THE DECISIONS OF NIGERIA VS ARGENTINA AND SENEGAL VS COLOMBIA CAN WE SAY VAR IS THE REASON NO AFRICAN TEAM MADE IT OUT OF THE GROUP STAGE
please drop your answers in comments...
Thanks.... Yours emmycapable