Is VAR responsible for spike in goals from set-pieces?

NEW DELHI: Move over Iceland and Harry Kane, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is the most talked-about debutant in this World Cup. The system was called into action on the second day of the competition and has been a constant fixture since.

The most apparent result of the technology can be seen in the number of goals that have come from the set-pieces.

According to the Washington Post, out of the 38 goals scored in the first round of the group stages, seven were from penalties, six from corner-kicks, four directly from a free-kick and three following free-kicks.

The VAR has kept defenders in check. It is common for defenders to be physically intimidating inside the box during set-pieces.

But with the all-seeing VAR at work, any rash altercation can result in a penalty and the number of penalties conceded in the first round matches have been higher than the last few editions.

In the first round matches, the referees gave nine penalties – the highest at this stage of the tournament since 1966 – and three of them stemmed from VAR.

In the past, there were a number of tackles inside the box which escaped notice but that is now a thing of the past.

Updated after France-peru match; * denotes qualified for Round of 16

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