By Samindra Kunti, Moscow
June 20 – FIFA has defended the use of video assistant referees (VARs) in the Confederations Cup in Russia, with president Gianni Infantino satisfied with the system’s progress.
The FIFA president has even gone as far as to describe VAR as “the future of modern football” following widespread criticism of the technology during the tournament in Russia.
The video referral system has been used five times so far at the Confederations Cup, but has suffered from a muddled application with lengthy delays, leaving both players and fans confused. FIFA said all five incidents were goal situations: four related to offsides, and one to a handball.
“I am extremely happy with VAR so far,” said Infantino in a statement. “We have seen how video assistance has helped referees to make the correct decisions. This is what VAR is all about.”
“The VAR tests during this Confederations Cup are also helping us to improve the processes and fine-tune communication,” continued Infantino. “What fans have been waiting for over so many years is finally happening. This is a milestone tournament. Video Assistant Refereeing is the future of modern football.”
Portugal had a goal disallowed for offside in their 2-2 draw with Mexico. Eduardo Vargas had a goal ruled out on the brink of half-time for Chile against Cameroon for the same offense despite video replays indicating he was onside.
Vargas then scored Chile’s second goal after VAR overruled an initial offside call, but Germany’s 3-2 win over Australia contained more VAR controversy when Tomi Juric’s goal stood notwithstanding claims of a handball.
Video assistance was introduced for the first time in a FIFA competition at the Club World Cup in Japan last December. The technology was also used at the recent U20 World Cup in South Korea. IFAB will make the final decision if VAR will be applied at next year’s World Cup.
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