VAR-MAGEDDON!
Video ref chaos as Portugal go through
SEND the pretend referees home and bin the replays — VAR is not fit for purpose. Thanks to the latest dodgy decision, Iran almost pulled off a fairy tale. The reality, however, is that had they progressed football, along with Portugal, would have been the losers on a simply shambolic night which brought embarrassment to this wonderful World Cup.
With an already-ruined, stopstart tussle entering injury time Portugal, for whom Cristiano Ronaldo had missed a penalty, appeared to have secured progression and top spot thanks to Ricardo Quaresma’s first-half wonder strike.
But then, following yet another woeful VAR intervention, Iran were handed a ludicrous penalty when Southampton’s Cedric Soares was deemed to have handled the ball in the area.
Soares was not even half a yard away from Sardar Azmoun when the Iranian’s knock down struck his arm, which was not raised. Nobody appealed.
Strangely, Paraguayan referee Enrique Caceres headed for the touchline. Unbelievably, he then put a square in the air and pointed to the spot.
Sub Karim Ansarifard duly put it into the top corner and there was, ridiculously, hope for the Iranians. And they almost had their dream when a deflected shot found Mehdi Taremi around eight yards out. The midfielder’s shot struck the side-netting. Had it gone in they would have been through. Perhaps Caceres and his pals in the booth breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the clearest evidence yet that, in its current format VAR is more trouble than it is worth. Decisions like that simply cannot be good for the game. Slow motion, as we have so often seen in other sports, often distorts reality.
Alan Shearer summed it up well. ‘Farcical, absolutely shambolic,’ he told BBC One viewers. ‘The referee is a very lucky guy. If Iran scored in the last minute there would be chaos. How can he think it’s a penalty and deliberate handball then he’s crazy.’
The Newcastle legend, never one to stand up for defenders, continued: ‘Every time it hits a hand it’s a pen? How can he think that? That was my fear that you’re going to get game like this then it’s an absolute farce.’
Shearer was not wrong. VAR turned what should have been a spectacle into a laughing stock. Not that both sets of players covered themselves in glory.
In England, EastEnders followed the match. Viewers who watched both will have seen more acting in the scenes beamed back from Russia than from Albert Square.
Time and time again players collapsed to the turf clutching their faces from phantom assaults.
Ronaldo was perhaps lucky to stay on the field after being shown a yellow card following another consultation after his arm hit the chin of Iran defender Morteza Pouraliganji. What of the actual football? Portugal were the better side and had the lead on the stroke of half-time when, on his first World Cup start at the age of 34, Quaresma produced a display of the undoubted talent he has perhaps not made the most of in a career that has taken him to Barcelona, Inter Milan and — fleetingly — Chelsea.
Following a slick one-two with Adrien Silva, he cut in from the right before dinking a delicious curling, dipping effort into the far corner with the outside of his right boot.
Following the break it looked as though Ronaldo’s moment, thanks to another questionable VAR decision, had arrived. Initially, Caceres waved play on after the former United man tangled with Iran’s Saeid Ezatolahi just inside the area. But an age later the decision was reversed.
Crazy, although worse was to come. When it comes to penalties, however, Ronaldo is not Harry Kane and his low effort to the right was easily saved by a previouslynervous Ali Beiranvand. It meant Ronaldo remained on four goals in the race for the Golden Boot, and Kane’s one-goal lead is kept intact. Following the injury-time madness the Tottenham man will have been one of few left with a smile on his face after a dark night for football. This cannot carry on.
IRAN (4-5-1): Beiranvand 7, Rezaeian 6, Hosseini 6, Pouraliganji 6.5, Hajsafi 6 (Mohammadi 56min, 6); Taremi 6, Jahanbakhsh 6 (Ghoddos 70, 6), Ezatolahi 5.5 (Ansarifard 76, 6.5), Ebrahimi 6, Amiri 6; Azmoun 6. Scorer: Ansarifard 90+3 pen. Booked: Haji Safi, Azmoun. Manager: Carlos Queiroz 7. PORTUGAL (4-4-2): Patricio 6; Cedric 6.5, Fonte 6.5, Pepe 6.5, Guerreiro 6.5; Quaresma 7 (Silva 70min, 6), Carvalho 7, Adrien Silva 6.5, Joao Mario 6.5 (Moutinho 84); Silva 6.5 (Guedes 90+5), Ronaldo 6.5. Scorer: Quaresma 45. Booked: Soares, Guerreiro, Quaresma, Ronaldo. Manager: Fernando Santos 7. Referee: Enrique Caceres 2. Attendance: 41,685.