7 World Cup Mistakes VAR Would Have Fixed

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One of the major features of the 2018 World Cup was the video assistant referees. Greatly discussed when the tournament kicked off, we’d say the introduction of VAR at the World Cup has been a success. Of course, it hasn’t been perfect, and there are still grey areas which need to be cleared up, but by and large it has significantly reduced the number of officiating errors in games.

One of our subscribers suggested that we do a hypothetical video on previous terrible decisions which would have been reversed by VAR had they occured today.

Here are our 7 World Cup mistakes VAR would have fixed:

7. Dos Santos’ Disallowed Double

We start with a match which was far from a World Cup final, and two decisions which didn’t actually alter the course of the match – but it is included because they perfectly exhibit what VAR is there for. In only the second game of the 2014 World Cup between Mexico and Cameroon, Giovani Dos Santos had two perfectly legitimate goals ruled out, both for offside.

In the first instance, Dos Santos was actually in line with the last defender, and in the second, the ball to him had been played by a defender rather than an attacking player, much like South Korea’s first goal against Germany this summer. Both would have been flagged by VAR, and Mexico may have won the game 3-0 rather than 1-0.

6. Poll’s Three Yellows

Referee Graham Poll gestures during the Barclays Premiership match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on May 9, 2007 in London, England.

Okay, this is something that should never happen anyway, and Graham Poll will probably never stop having nightmares about it. The issue of giving a player three yellow cards doesn’t specifically fall within the VAR remit, but I’m pretty sure they’d flag it up if anyone was unfortunate enough to do it again.

It was at the 2006 World Cup that Graham Poll handed Josip Simunic three yellow cards before handing the Croatian his marching orders, the last of those three yellows coming after the final whistle.

5. Rattin’s Red

It has long been felt in South America that there was a certain degree of bias against the Latin American nations at the 1966 World Cup in England. Pele’s Brazil were kicked out of the tournament, Uruguay had two players sent off against West Germany and Argentina seemingly had a right to feel aggrieved in their quarter-final defeat to England – their captain, Antonio Rattin, was sent off after just 35 minutes. What had Rattin done? Well, not much, it seemed. The German referee cited ‘violence of the tongue’ as his reasoning for sending Rattin off, and the Argentinians naturally took that decision very well.

Rattin took nine minutes to leave the field, requiring two policemen to escort him off the field. Roberto Ferrero attacked the referee at full-time and spat in the FIFA vice-president’s face, whilst another Argentina player decided to urinate in the tunnel. Not the classiest responses, but if VAR had been in place, it’s hard to see Rattin getting a red, and maybe it all would have been much prettier.

4. No Justice for the USSR

Igor Belanov of the Soviet Union (L) jumps to try to avoid the tackle of Hungarian Marton Esterhazy during a 1970 World Soccer Cup match, 02 June in Irapuato. (Photo by Georges GOBET

Most nations have a World Cup they look back on with particular fondness, and another commonly associated with bitterness and anger. For Belgium and the USSR, that would be the 1986 World Cup. The two teams met in the round of 16 in what was regarded as a classic by the neutral, history-making by the Belgians and a national disgrace by the Soviet Union. Igor Belanov scored a hat-trick for the USSR, but they lost 4-3 after extra-time. The controversy stemmed from the fact that two of Belgium’s goals were clear offside. VAR would undoubtedly have pulled them up, although given that one of them involved a player who was five yards ahead of the last defender, you’d think the linesman could spot that in real time.

3. Hand of God

Ah, I’m almost sick of talking about it now. Maradona’s Hand of God is obviously one of the most iconic and well-known acts of cheating in World Cup history. Maradona may have been a giant of the game, but he was a tiny man, and should never have been beating Peter Shilton to a high ball with or without the use of his hands. Anyway, he did, punching the ball into the back of the net. VAR would have disallowed the goal and possibly handed further punishment to El Diego, but there was no such technology at the time, and Argentina went on to win the World Cup.

2. Schumacher’s Shame

Former German national goalkeeper Harald Schumacher aka Toni Schumacher takes part in a World Cup football talk show by German tabloid ‘BILD’ in Berlin, on July 1, 2014. Schumacher, dubbed…

A man who recently featured in our look at 7 infamous World Cup villains, Harald Schumacher didn’t endear himself to the world at the 1982 World Cup. When Patrick Battiston was played in on goal, Schumacher came in with a five foot high clattering in which he knocked the French defender out cold. Battiston was missing teeth and had cracked ribs.

The referees judgement? Nothing doing. Get up son, it’s just a bit of concussion, teeth losing, rib cracking and severe vertebrae damage. Goal kick, get on with it. Had VAR been in place, France would have had a penalty, Schumacher would have been sent off and the 1982 World Cup may have ended very differently indeed.

1. Spain vs South Korea

Victory over Spain on penalties in the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals was a huge scalp for the joint hosts South Korea, but in truth, the game never should never have reached that stage. Spain had two perfectly legitimate goals ruled out for no obvious reason, both of which VAR would surely have to flag as clear and obvious errors by the referee Gamal Al-Ghandour of Egypt.