Amid growing criticism, FIFA has decided to deploy Video Assistant Referees (VAR) on-site. Governing bodies are moving to combat oversight by removing officials from their Dallas headquarters and bringing them closer to action.
The people operating this technology will be near the semi-final and final venues as the World Cup business wraps up. England will see that change when they play Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, but it was first seen against France and Spain in Dallas. The Three Lions had a controversial penalty with Clement Turpin instructed to go to the monitor and reverse the decision after Jed Spence was adjudged to have initiated the contact.
Spain dominated Didier Deschamps’ team, aiming to reach the World Cup final for the third consecutive year. Lucas Digne’s reckless challenge on Lamine Yamal saw Mikel Oyarzabal score from the spot and Pedro Polo doubled the lead with Dani Olmo.
Referee Ivan Barton had little trouble and did not require any technological intervention. However, VAR was accused of tweaking the match after Ousmane Dembele saw a free-kick overturned after a foul on Fabian Ruiz. BBC Sport’s Dale Johnson claimed the assistant referee had recommended the change.
“There’s a lot of drama that unfolds in these games,” said Dan Hunt, owner of FC Dallas and member of the FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee. “And asking just four officials to manage what’s happening on the field is very difficult on a field that’s much larger than an American football field.”
“It’s nice to be able to communicate on-site. You never know how communication will turn out.”
England saw their penalty overturned despite Jed Spence appearing to be brought down by a Norwegian defender inside the box.
Egypt, on the other hand, had their goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up that would have given Egypt a two-goal advantage had Zico scored, and officials ruled that Lisandro Martinez was fouled at the start of play.
Ahead of the quarter-final stage, where the arrangement will be trialled for some matches, VAR personnel were operating from a central hub at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, regardless of where each match was played. The development marks a major change in how the tournament’s judging system operates and comes as officiating standards come under increased scrutiny as the tournament approaches its most important remaining games.
The new field staff will act as an emergency response in case of communication or technical problems. Ivan Barton has been appointed as referee for the highly anticipated match between Spain and France. Poland’s Tomasz Kwiatkowski assumed responsibility as chief VAR officer. An experienced video expert, he oversaw VAR operations for the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina.
