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Experts Slam VAR Use at World Cup: 'Outrageous'
🇳🇴 Norway /Sports

Experts Slam VAR Use at World Cup: 'Outrageous'

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • Football experts criticize the inconsistent application of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) in the World Cup, suggesting it can lead to preferential treatment for favored teams and players.
  • Experts point to instances where similar fouls by star players like Erling Haaland were treated differently based on the perceived strength of the teams involved.
  • Concerns are raised that VAR's application has become more interventionist in later stages of the tournament, leading to frustration and speculation about its fairness.

Football experts are voicing strong criticism over the inconsistent and, at times, seemingly biased application of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) during the current World Cup. The technology, intended to ensure fairness, is now being accused of creating problematic disparities in how decisions are made, potentially favoring established teams and star players.

In larger degrees, it can be used if you want to give advantages to players and nations that are more appropriate to advance in a championship.

— Petter VelandVeland, a World Cup expert for VG, explains his concerns about VAR potentially favoring certain teams.

Petter Veland, a World Cup expert for VG, argues that VAR's increased usage opens the door for preferential treatment. "In larger degrees, it can be used if you want to give advantages to players and nations that are more appropriate to advance in a championship," Veland stated. He believes this fuels speculation that VAR might be a tool to help the "supposedly best teams" progress, undermining the integrity of the competition.

It gives ground for speculation that it is a tool that can send the supposedly best teams further.

— Petter VelandVeland discusses the perception that VAR might be used to influence tournament outcomes.

Veland finds it understandable that fans are reacting negatively when similar situations result in different outcomes. He highlighted two instances involving Norwegian star Erling Haaland: a push on Elliot Anderson that led to a disallowed goal for Norway against England, and a nearly identical incident in the group stage against Iraq that went unpunched. "Those situations are quite similar, but in one, Norway is the underdog, in the other, Norway is the favorite and the 'big nation'," he observed.

Those situations are quite similar, but in one, Norway is the underdog, in the other, Norway is the favorite and the 'big nation'.

— Petter VelandVeland uses two incidents involving Erling Haaland to illustrate his point about inconsistent VAR application.

NRK expert Carl Erik Torp described the decision to disallow Haaland's push on Anderson as "outrageous." While acknowledging VAR's effectiveness early in the tournament with a high threshold for intervention, Torp noted a shift in the knockout stages. "It seems like the referees are becoming a bit more cowardly, and there's a feeling that it's easier to influence matches by going into these doubtful cases," he said, expressing strong disapproval of this change. TV 2 expert Joanna Bækkelund also expressed disappointment, noting that the primary aim of VAR is to correct "clear and obvious" errors, but this principle appears to be inconsistently applied.

I think that is outrageous.

— Carl Erik TorpTorp, an NRK football expert, reacts to a specific VAR decision involving Erling Haaland.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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