Well, after numerous controversial decisions in football, including the infamous Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the VAR (Virtual Assistant Referee) decisions became prominent. A few years down the line, the 2018 FIFA World Cup officially introduced VAR in the world of football, where it played a crucial role in awarding France a penalty in the final against Croatia.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Although the introduction of VAR decisions seemed revolutionary and quite unusual at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it soon became a popular addition and featured in the most crucial football leagues and tournaments, including the English Premier League (2019-2020) season, the 2020 UEFA Champions League, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and many others. Well, although the introduction of VAR (Virtual Assistant Referee) is still hailed as a game-changing move, it has also stirred numerous controversies over the course of years.
In this article we will take a look at the top four most controversial VAR decisions that deeply disappointed football aficionados.
Top 4 Most Controversial VAR Decisions in Football History
| Rank | Game | Year | Competition |
| 1. | Spurs 2-1 Liverpool | 2023 | Premier League |
| 2. | Arsenal 1-1 Brentford | 2023 | Premier League |
| 3. | Portugal 2-0 Uruguay | 2022 | World Cup |
| 4. | Sweden 6-0 Azerbaijan | 2024 | Nations League |
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Luis Diaz Wrongly Ruled Out Goal At The 2023 Premier League
Liverpool’s match against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2023-24 Premier League season in September 2023 proved to be one of the most challenging days in the history of VAR decisions ever given. In the 34th minute, Liverpool’s Luis Díaz scored what seemed to be a legitimate goal for the audience. However, the assistant referee shockingly flagged it as offside.
The infamous “Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool’s ruckus worsened when the assigned VAR officials of the match, Darren England and Dan Cook, mistakenly thought the on-field referee had awarded the goal and ultimately validated the assistant referee’s wrong decision. As a consequence, Darren England and Dan Cook were immediately removed from their next officiating duties.
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Ivan Toney’s Wrongly Allowed Goal At The 2023 Premier League
The Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) technology undoubtedly suffered a massive blow in the 2023 Premier League season. At the second spot in our list of the top four most controversial VAR decisions in the history of football, we have the iconic “Arsenal and Brentford” match in the 2023 Premier League season, which unfortunately led Lee Mason into hot waters and marked an abrupt end of his officiating career.
While Arsenal were fighting for the league title in the 2023 Premier League, Brentford’s Toney Ivan scored an equaliser. Although Ivan Toney clearly appeared to be offside when Christian Norgaard set up the goal, the VAR official Lee Mason forgot to check for offside by drawing lines on the screen and shockingly allowed Ivan Toney’s goal to stand, leading him to resign from his officiating job.
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Wrong Penalty Awarded At The 2022 World Cup
Although the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup witnessed numerous controversial refereeing decisions, the most shocking of them was the penalty awarded to Argentina against Poland in their Group C match by the referee, Danny Makkelie, under the influence of a Virtual Referee Assistant (VAR).
In the 36th minute of the match, Argentina’s Julian Alvarez crossed the ball into the box, and at the same time, Poland’s goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny deliberately punched it away, making extremely light contact with Lionel Messi’s face. Although the referee, Danny Makkelie, did not award any penalty initially, after the VAR review he suddenly changed his decision and gave Argentina a penalty. The decision sparked numerous controversies as the fans believed that Wojciech Szczęsny’s physical contact with Lionel Messi was purely incidental.
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Alexander Isla’s Goal Wrongly Ruled Out At The 2024 Nations League
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four most controversial VAR decisions, we have a shocking incident from the recent 2024 Nations League season. Alexander Isla scored a goal during the match and although it appeared to be validated and legal in the beginning, right after the goal, the officials of the match used the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) to review the goal and declared it to be “illegal”. Well, the VAR officials ruled out Alexander Isla’s goal due to an undeclared violation that was brutally criticised by football fans from all over the world.
While the Virtual Assistant Referee technology was originally introduced to ease decision-making in football and reduce errors, such controversial and unexplainable decisions often create huge speculation about the validity of the VAR’s decisions.
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