BERN — Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Thursday that the World Cup should not be used as an occasion to experiment with video replay technology.
Blatter’s comment on Twitter followed a series of confusing incidents involving the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system which is being trialed in Italy’s Serie A, the English FA Cup, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Portuguese league and other competitions around the world.
The sport’s law-making body IFAB is due to decide Saturday whether to approve VAR on a permanent basis and FIFA has already said it intends to use the system at the World Cup in Russia in June and July.
“A personal appeal to IFAB the Guardians of the Laws of the Game: FIFA WC cannot be used as experiment for such a fundamental change: VAR,” said Blatter.
The latest confusion involving VAR was at Wednesday’s English FA Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Rochdale, where the London side had an early goal disallowed and a penalty later awarded by the VAR.
Afterward, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said VAR risked killing emotion in the sport, echoing a sentiment which has already been expressed by some Serie A coaches.
It was not clear if Blatter was appealing for IFAB to reject VAR outright or give it more time.
Blatter quit after 17 years as FIFA president in June 2015 after the global soccer body was engulfed in a corruption scandal. The 81-year-old was later banned from the sport for six years for ethics violations.
Blatter, who has always denied wrongdoing, said last month he was considering legal action to clear his name. Last week, he tweeted his support for Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
Former referee questions
Wembley VAR calls
A former Premier League referee believes mistakes were made with the deployment of the controversial Video Assistant Referee system during Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round replay at Wembley.
Tottenham Hotspur eventually booked its place in the quarterfinals with a 6-1 win over third-tier strugglers Rochdale.
But, not for the first time this season, the action on the field threatened to be overtaken by debate over the VAR, which is being trialed in English cup competitions this season.
Mark Halsey, a former Premier League referee, said Spurs’ Erik Lamela had had a “perfectly good goal” disallowed for a minor infringement by Fernando Llorente when Wednesday’s game was still goalless.
There were several other flashpoints at a snowy Wembley, with referee Paul Tierney ruling out Son Heung-Min’s penalty for Spurs after the South Korean star paused in his run-up — another decision which involved a VAR check.
When asked about Lamela’s ‘goal’, Halsey told BBC Radio Five Live: “For me it wasn’t a clear and obvious error. I thought it was a perfectly good goal. I don’t know why it was referred (to the VAR) in the first place.”
Halsey added he did not understand why the referee did not look at the touchline monitor himself, as allowed under the protocol.
He also criticized Tierney for ruling out the Tottenham penalty, saying he should have had the spot-kick retaken for encroachment.
“He could have handled it better,” Halsey added.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, speaking after the match, said: “The first half was a little bit embarrassing for everyone. I’m not sure that system is going to help.
“We love the game we know, football is about emotion but if we are going to kill emotion then people who love football will not be happy,” he added.
Meanwhile Spurs full-back Danny Rose said the VAR was “shambolic” and an “absolute disgrace”.
“We got the job done under shambolic circumstances through the game,” Rose told talkSPORT radio.
“An absolute disgrace, waiting around for I don’t know how many minutes to get a decision.
“It’s just laughable,” he added of a system where players and fans alike are kept in the dark over a referee’s reasoning, unlike similar set-ups in cricket and rugby.
“It just ruined it a little bit.” — Agencies
