More right than wrong: The 15 VAR decisions in Russia

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Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in two VAR incidents against Iran.
  • Post published:June 26, 2018

The VAR system has made its debut at the 2018 Fifa World Cup and there has been no shortage of controversy with 15 formal incidents being reviewed thus far. FourFourTwo South Africa analyses its success.

There has been a VAR incident fewer than one every two games after 36 games. While many decisions have been debatable, the system – by and large – has been making the right decisions, bar maybe Iran’s penalty against Portugal for a handball by Cedric Soares.

The point is, VAR has helped avoid the injustices of Neymar’s dive for a penalty, and Spain’s equaliser by Iago Aspos against Morocco being ruled out for offside.

The issues, however, have arisen around the decisions which were not clear and open to a subjective opinion. What one person may perceive as a stone wall penalty, another might see as a soft decision.

READ: World Cup penalties record broken as VAR drama continues

The other obvious problem has been around incidents where VAR has not been called upon to review an incident. Harry Kane’s penalty appeals against Tunisia or Steven Zuber’s push on Brazil’s Miranda are just two examples of decisions which could have easily been given following a review.

Here are all 15 VAR incidents:

15) Iran vs Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo penalty claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

14) Iran vs Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo elbow
Decision: Yellow card
Correct? Yes

13) Iran vs Portugal
Cedric Soares handball claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? No

12) Spain vs Morocco
Iago Aspas offside goal
Decision: Not offside, goal stands
Correct? Yes

11) Saudi Arabia vs Egypt
Fahad Al-Muwallad penalty claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Marginal, but shirt was being pulled

READ MORE: Pride at stake for Courtois and Belgium

10) England vs Panama
Harry Kane penalty claim after being wrestled by Anibal Godoy
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

9) Belgium vs Tunisia
Eden Hazard penalty claim on edge of box
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

8) Nigeria vs Iceland
Penalty claim for foul by Tyronne Ebuehi on Alfred Finnbogason
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

7) Brazil vs Costa Rica
Neymar claims penalty
Decision: No penalty
Correct? Yes, but no yellow card was shown for Neymar’s dive

6) Denmark vs Australia
Yussuf Poulsen handball claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Probably

5) Iran vs Spain
Saeid Ezatolahi’s goal offside
Decision: No goal — offside
Correct? Yes

4) Sweden vs South Korea
Viktor Claesson penalty claim for foul
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

3) Costa Rica vs Serbia
Aleksandar Prijovic clash with Johnny Acosta
Decision: Yellow card instead of red
Correct? Yes

2) Peru vs Denmark
Christian Cueva penalty claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Yes

1) France vs Australia
Antoine Griezmann penalty claim
Decision: Penalty
Correct? Probably

READ: Spain, Portugal survive scares to progress

There were also situations where no VAR review occurred but perhaps should have:

England vs Tunisia: Kane’s penalty claims
Brazil vs Sweden: push on Miranda before Zuber’s equaliser and Gabriel Jesus penalty claim
Argentina vs Iceland: Cristian Pavon penalty claim
Serbia vs Switzerland: Aleksandar Mitrovic rugby-tackled by two players
Sweden vs Germany: Marcus Berg penalty claim for Sweden

Here a quick summary of how VAR works in theory: 

1) The VAR officials watch multiple screens with multiple angles of the game looking at incidents where a clear and obvious error has been made relating to goals, penalty decisions, red-card decisions and mistaken identity.

2) If the VAR officials identify a clear and obvious error, they will tell the referee through his earpiece and get the decision changed if it is clear-cut.

3) If the decision is not clear and requires further inspection, the referee would be encouraged to look at a pitch-side screen before making a final decision.

4) The outcome and graphics explaining it will be given to broadcasters and shown on big screens inside the stadium.