December 19 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino still hopes to see video technology used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia if teething problems can be ironed out in time.
Colombia’s Atletico Nacional slammed the so-called video assistant referee (VAR) technology that was trialled at the Club World Cup in Japan after the first-ever penalty awarded under the system helped knock them out in the semi-finals while Spanish giants Real Madrid were also lukewarm about it even though they were not adversely affected and went on to pick up the trophy.
But Infantino praised the innovation.
“The referee didn’t see the play and his non-decision could be corrected thanks to the video technology,” he said on the eve of the final between Real and Kashima. “The time it took [to award the spot kick] lasted too long, that’s something we can work on.
“But the right decision was taken and the penalty awarded, which was correct.”
Infantino argued that players spend more time feigning injury than it takes video assistants to review footage.
“We don’t want the flow of the game to be interrupted, but what is 30 seconds or one minute in a World Cup if you can win or lose a final because of a mistake by the referee?” he said. “How much time do players waste in a match when they fall down?
“For over 50 years, there has been discussion and FIFA has been criticised for refusing to use video assistance. Now we have made history here in Japan. We are in a test phase and it needs to be fine-tuned but VAR can deliver minimum interference for maximum benefit.”
Technology was also used for Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goal in Real’s 2-0 victory over Club America in the other semi-final before the goal was allowed to stand after considerable confusion between the officials.
“The Ronaldo goal was a communication issue,” said Infantino, who later confirmed that 12 national associations have signed up to trial the system. “Transparency and justice have been brought to the game”.
FIFA’s technical development chief, former Dutch great Marco van Basten, echoed his boss’s sentiments. “It can only be better with VAR because there are more eyes.”
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