The referee has the power to give the VAR a Red card

Oh and just saw the Swedish non-penalty, not overturned by VAR.
So could one of you VAR supporters please explain how it is reducing controversy given that is not overturned but the non-penalty decision against Risdon is overturned.
It is simply a lottery.

Add to that it is leading to even more crowding of the referee even as play continues in some cases. I know I was always told that there was no way the referee was going to change his decision so accept it and move on. Well. Now they can. So every MF'er out there getting right in the face calling for the replay, right in the ref's grill. Just a really really bad look.

Plus Iranian playyers encroaching

There sure is,

But as I said above, the goal line tech is only for the ball crossing the line. It is entirely the referee's decision to call if a keeper comes off their line or not. This law never gets policed, just like foul throws.

I don't know if I should put this is the unpopular opinions thread, but I like that these sorts of hand balls are being pulled up. Anything other than a deliberate kick into the hands should be a free kick. 

There is a camera

GLT is objective and less disruptive to the game. VAR just ruins the flow...

So there’s no camera on the goal line?

Goal Line tech uses sensors in the ball. Its got nothing to do with the keeper position.

The keep off the line is one of those laws, like foul throws and signalling VAR which never get pulled up.

EDIT: I am not sure which method they use at this WC for goal line technology. It might just be HawkEye but eitherway, it only cares about the ball

So why didn’t goal line technology pick it up?

There will always be controversy when a human decision is involved. A perfect example of this is in the HAL. You can have all the fancy expensive replays and equipment, but the moment you put someone as incompetent as the refs on the field in charge (Strebre), the decisions will still be shit.

Hence why Goal Line tech is so good!

The VAR is pointless. It was supposed to reduce controversy but if anything had added to it.
- Has it corrected a few obviously wrong decisions. Yes.
- Has it overturned decisions incorrectly. Yes. That Iran penalty decision was worse than the one we got.
- Has it failed to overturn obviously incorrect decisions. Yes, at least one that should have gone to England and Brazil.
And to cap it all off, despite an assistant referee, goal line technology and the VAR, the Iranian keeper being a metre off his line before Ronaldo’s penalty was apparently invisible to all.
Has not reduced controversy one iota.

I... like it. I always thought the defenders got away with too much in the box. More penalties means more goals, which is completely fine by me. They do need to make it more consistent, but it's working better than I thought possible. It's a pleasant surprise.

I have to hand it to the evil geniuses at FIFA. VAR is the perfect tool to corruptly manipulate the results of matches under the guise of trying to do something good for the game.
It really is genius.

World Cup: Spain, Morocco, Portugal and Iran, across two games in two cities, play 17 insane minutes of football

Updated 17 minutes ago

In two separate matches, in two stadiums nearly 2,000 kilometres apart but at precisely the same time, complete World Cup madness unfolded in two Group B fixtures.

Plenty was on the line in both Portugal's clash with Iran and Spain's meeting with Morocco, even into the final stages of the matches with the final group placings up for grabs and both games open, entertaining affairs.

In Kaliningrad, Spain and Morocco were level at 1-1 after Khalid Boutaib's breakaway opener was cancelled out by Isco's brilliantly worked goal, while at the Mordovia Arena, Portugal led Iran through a Ricardo Quaresma wondergoal, although Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a VAR-awarded penalty.

At that stage, Portugal was top of the group and Spain second. And then, all hell broke loose…

81st minute

Spain's hopes of topping the group take a gigantic blow when Youssef En-Nesyri climbs highest from a corner to head in a second for Morocco. Spain looks rattled, the game descends into a series of cynical fouls and a famous Moroccan victory looks on the cards.

Meanwhile, off to the east, the referee has stopped play. Iranian defender Morteza Pouraliganji was on the ground holding his face, with only Ronaldo in the vicinity and, on the advice of the voice in his earpiece, he was off to his TV screen. VAR would decide CR7's fate.

Replays show Ronaldo tangling with Pouraliganji, with the Iranian attempting to block the Portugal star's forward run and copping a stray elbow in the process. A red card would not only harm Portugal's chances in this match, but in the knockout stages too.

After what seemed an eternity, the referee pauses, jogs back to the centre and wields…

A yellow card.

89th minute

Spain has regained its footing in the game and has created some chances, but it still trails. Marco Asensio has flashed a header wide, Rodrigo sprayed another attempt, and all the while the Moroccan fans are going berserk, thinking their team is about to pull off an incredible win.

At that very moment in the other game, as Cedric Soares rose for an aerial battle with striker Sadar Azmoun in Iran's box, the ball deflected into the arm of the Portugal defender and shouts for handball follow.

Initially, the referee did not react. But then, the familiar sight of a referee blowing his whistle mid-play and jogging over to the touchline. VAR again.

91st minute

While over in Mordovia Arena, the referee continued to study his TV screen as the Iranian and Portuguese players argued among themselves, Spain won a corner.

It was taken quickly, whipped in low and hard by Dani Carvajal and wonderfully flicked home by Spanish striker Iago Aspas. But the celebrations would be short lived, as the referee reacted to the linesman's raised flag.

It was offside — or was it? Off to VAR we go again.

93rd minute

It's absolute VAR chaos. Simultaneously, match and group-defining decisions are being made by referees looking at screens off the pitch. Nobody quite knows what's happening.

Then, at almost the exact same time, we have two rulings — Aspas is onside, Cedric handled the ball illegally. It's a Spain goal, and an Iran penalty.

The Moroccans are furious, screaming at the referee and remonstrating with the Spanish players. The goal will stand though, with Spain now level once more at 2-2.

Over in Mordovia, Karim Ansarifard steps up confidently to take the spot kick and does what Ronaldo couldn't — belt it into the top corner. Iran has equalised, has moved back up to third in the table and still has a couple of minutes to steal a win that would see them progress ahead of Portugal.

98th minute

With wind at their backs once more, Iran has been pushing for an equaliser — with Mehdi Taremi even having an incredible chance fall to his left foot that he put into the side-netting — but it's all for nothing.

The two referees blow their whistles only seconds apart. Iran has fallen short, Morocco has missed out on its historic win, but Spain has moved back ahead of Portugal to top Group B thanks to a higher number of goals scored.

Iranian players and fans succumbed to tears, some vented their rage at the referee and the VAR. Like Morocco, their World Cup has ended in disappointment but not disgrace.

Spain will now have a much friendlier round of 16 game against Russia, while Portugal will be seriously tested by Uruguay. Once thought to be a lop-sided pool, Group B turned out to be an absolute cracker — and you'll be hard pressed to find a more manic 17 minutes of football in the history of this great tournament.

Last world cup there were 13 penalties in total. This world cup there have been ~16 at the half way mark

Not only that but every time a goal is scored you have to wait for about 2 minutes of play before accepting that it has actually been approved

The trials of VAR proved it to be a fuck up. But it wasn't the answer FIFA wanted so they went ahead with it anyway


If we are stuck with this steaming pile of shit then at the very least it should only be used to review penalties or goals actually given, and only to the point of when the ball was last dead (ie- if the free kick was illegally won but the goal was legit then the goal stands)

Under no circumstances should it ever be used to correct a decision not given because there have been fucking dozens of decisions not given that were not corrected - and this is the grey area that has fucked up this world cup


I can see how anybody can stand by VAR. What has it even accomplished?

Its likely to be the opposite if its being controlled by western Europeans 

Bet your sweet bippy the Russians opponents will get pinged for anything VAR can find.

This is building to be the most amazing part of the World Cup

Stop trying to find solutions to this lol. Just get rid of it.

At the start of the season that would have been upgraded to a red. But because there were so many poor uses of the VAR (everything was being re-refereed) they updated it so that yellows couldnt be upgraded to red if the referee saw the incident and carded the player, so now you're left with a situation where a clear red cant even be reviewed by the VAR.

Not corruption, just shit implementation. 

Can someone post a link to the vid?

Just saw the replay of the Valeri tackle. If you compare that to recent tackles that the VAR has upgraded to a red card you can only conclude that the league is corrupt. That tackle cannot be anything other than a red. It’s a joke.

Nah mate, we have mastered the VAR

Eliminated in the Semi ?

You just know Australia will get fucked over with the VAR.