World Cup: VAR shows the downside of getting more calls right

Torbjorn Heggem was the first to react this past Saturday when the rebound of a teammate's close-range shot dropped invitingly in the six-yard box.  The Norway defender stuck out his left foot and poked the ball into the roof of the wide-open net to seemingly give his team a 2-1 second-half lead over England in a World Cup quarterfinal. Heggem sprang to his feet with his arms outstretched looking for someone to hug. Teammates dashed in Heggem's direction and mobbed him near the corner. It was a moment of exhilaration for a nation that has never made a deep World Cup run before … until French referee Clément Turpin signaled that replay officials had asked him to go to a pitchside TV monitor to reexamine the buildup to the goal.  Replays showed that Norway's hulking superstar Erling Haaland had shoved England midfielder Elliot Anderson in the chest and sent him sprawling to the grass, preventing him from competing for position on the corner kick that led to the goal. Turpin ruled that was enough to disallow Norway's go-ahead goal even though Haaland was not involved in the play and Anderson appeared to go down a bit softly. A look at the foul committed by Erling Haaland that led to Norway's goal being called back pic.twitter.com/rdnEFuDamw — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026 That was one of two video assistant referee (VAR) decisions that left Norway fuming after its 2-1 loss to England in extra time . The Norwegians also unsuccessfully argued that VAR should have intervened to disallow Jude Bellingham's equalizing goal late in the first half because the ball appeared to strike an overhead camera cable right before the attack started.  "We didn't get much help from the referee," Norway captain Martin Odegaard told reporters after the match. That was diplomatic compared to a pair of posts on X from Haaland's father. "Well done Bellingham and referee," Alf-Inge Haaland wrote Saturday, referring to Bellingham's two-goal performance.  Later, in response to an English Journalist, the elder Haaland added: "Saved by the referee. Hope you win the WC now. But feel we got robbed today." The defining story of this summer's World Cup hasn't always been the age-defying goal scoring of Lionel Messi, the fairytale magic of Cape Verde or the relentless inevitability of France. Debate over whether soccer's instant replay technology is being used as intended has often dominated the conversation after controversial or inconsistent VAR decisions altered the course of high-profile matches. There were already more than 100 instances of VAR confirming a referee's call or overturning it by the end of the round of 16, according to Antonio Vuksanović , a public relations professional at the Croatian sports technology and advanced statistics site, Sofascore.com . Roughly 0.5 decisions per match have been overturned, per Vuksanović, which he says "is higher than the last World Cup and higher than what we saw across the most recently completed club season." Discontentment with the current VAR system might be the only thing that supporters of all 48 countries in this summer's World Cup have in common. Croatians are still livid over a disallowed goal they believe should have counted. So are Egyptians. Fans who previously experienced the instant euphoria of their team scoring a goal are now left in limbo while potential fouls or offsides calls get reviewed. No one can be sure whether a reckless tackle will result in a card or penalty or go unpunished until VAR has its say. The refereeing at this World Cup is "erratic" and "unreliable," England coach Thomas Tuchel told reporters earlier this month. Added Tuchel: "It's just not good enough." The blunders that inspired VAR There isn't a single blown call that led soccer stakeholders to embrace video review technology, but there are two incidents that certainly accelerated the process. The first catalyst was a blatant handball during a 2010 World Cup playoff that sent France to South Africa and denied Ireland a spot. Thierry Henry stuck out his hand to keep a free kick from going out of play, brought it back into his path and delivered an on-target pass to set up France's winning goal.  It's already 11 years since Thierry Henry's handball prevented Republic of Ireland from qualifying for the World Cup. What's the most controversial goal you've seen? pic.twitter.com/3PDgUjVmWW — The Blizzard (@blzzrd) November 18, 2020 Equally pivotal was Frank Lampard's goal that never was during a 2010 World Cup round of 16 match between England and Germany. Neither the referee nor the linesman awarded the English midfielder a goal after he struck a long-range shot that bounced off the crossbar and crossed the goal-line. Instead of tying the match at 2 apiece, England went on to lose 4-1. June 27, 2010. Germany 4x1 England. But the score could be different. With 2x1 on the scoreboard, Frank Lampard made a kick that hit the crossbar and entered clearly. The whole world sees... except arbitration. “Unsuccessful goal” became one of the most controversial offers in… pic.twitter.com/77WoZpFTSg — VintageFootballTV (@Vintage77Ball) June 20, 2026 The blowback from both incidents forced then FIFA president Sepp Blatter to change his stance toward video review technology. By 2012, FIFA began experimenting with goal-line technology at its Club World Cup. By 2016, FIFA did the same with a full video review system. This summer's World Cup is the third in a row with VAR. How is VAR supposed to work? VAR — or Video Assistant Referee — is a refereeing support tool whose purpose, according to FIFA , is to enable "clear and obvious errors during a match to be checked, reviewed and corrected" by replay officials assigned before each match. Under the VAR system, replay officials seated in front of an array of monitors review goals, red card incidents, penalty decisions, corner kicks and cases of mistaken identity, where a player from the wrong team has been penalized. If a potential "clear and obvious" error has been made, the on-field referee is alerted and may be asked to review the incident on a pitch-side monitor. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev back watches the video assistant referee VAR monitor during the round of 16 match between France and Paraguay. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images Potential offsides calls are also subject to an automatic review system that is slightly different from the VAR process. The "semi-automatic offside technology" uses cameras all across the stadium to determine if a player was offside. If a goal is scored and there is even the slightest possibility that a player was offside in the buildup to the goal, the goal is reviewed before the ensuing kickoff to determine if it should be allowed. Why has this World Cup been marred by so many VAR controversies? The major frustration for World Cup viewers has been how subjective the "clear and obvious" threshold seems to be. What's clear and obvious to one set of replay officials may not be to another. As a result, certain offenses that have gone unpunished in one game may result in a red card in another.  In Argentina's opening match of group play, Messi was fortunate to escape without a card when he tackled Aïssa Mandi from behind and seemed to rake his studs along the back of the Algeria captain's right calf and ankle. Two weeks later, U.S. forward Folarin Balogun f amously received a red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina for a seemingly more innocuous challenge, one that didn't even result in a foul until replay officials reviewed slow-motion replays. Just a reminder that USMNT striker Folarin Balogun received a red card after a VAR check on this challenge. Earlier in the tournament, Lionel Messi didn’t get a yellow card or even a VAR check for a similar challenge. pic.twitter.com/C1eMdLU4F3 — USMNT Only (@usmntonly) July 2, 2026 After the U.S. survived despite playing with 10 men for the final 35-plus minutes, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino called Balogun's red card "completely unfair" and insisted there was "never an intention to step on the player." In a surprising and unprecedented move, FIFA opted to delay Balogun's one-match suspension amidst legal pressure from U.S. Soccer and from the Trump Administration.  Which semifinalist — France, Spain, England or Argentina — has benefited most from friendly VAR decisions? Among the four heavyweights still battling to hoist the World Cup trophy this Sunday, one has been at the center of more refereeing disputes than the others. Argentina has benefited from so many favorable decisions during its path to this week's semifinals that opposing fans have derisively nicknamed the reigning World Cup champions "VARgentina." It started in group play when Algeria formally complained after Messi went in studs-up on Mandi yet escaped any card. Egypt then appeared to go ahead 2-0 against Argentina in the round of 16, only to have the second-half goal disallowed by VAR due to a foul that sparked the coast-to-coast counterattack. When speaking to reporters after the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan argued his side had been "treated unfairly" and "suffered injustice." "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition," Hassan added. "Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running." Another VAR decision during Argentina's 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Switzerland reignited fan outrage once more. In the 72nd minute, with the score tied 1-1, Argentina's Leandro Paredes received a yellow card for a supposed reckless challenge. After reviewing video of the incident, referee João Pinheiro realized that Swiss striker Breel Embolo had not been touched and had taken a dive. By rule, if Pinheiro rescinded Paredes' yellow card, he had to give one to Embolo for simulation, the second of the match for the Swiss attacker, resulting in his disqualification. After a VAR review, Embolo is sent off with his second yellow for simulation 🟥 pic.twitter.com/1ljSIAtVRj — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 12, 2026 "Unacceptable," Swiss coach Murat Yakin called the decision after the match.  "I don't know what this referee is doing here," Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler added. And yet despite the Swiss outrage and the outcry from rival fans convinced that this World Cup is rigged for Messi, there's a strong argument that the big VAR decisions favoring Argentina have been correct. The foul that nullified Egypt's second goal had a direct impact on Egypt's ability to break away and score. And the supposed foul on Paredes in the Switzerland match was actually an egregious dive. If Embolo didn't want to risk a second yellow card there, maybe he should have stayed on his feet.  Which eliminated nation has the biggest gripe against VAR?  It has to be Croatia. Deep into stoppage time in the round of 32, with Portugal leading 2-1, Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol appeared to score a last-gasp equalizer to keep his side alive. Those celebrations proved short-lived, however, when a check of the sensors embedded inside the ball confirmed that Croatia striker Igor Matanović faintly grazed it with his head, an inadvertent flick that put teammate Mario Pašalić in offside position before he assisted on the goal. Almost an ALL-TIME stoppage time moment from Croatia with a late equalizer but it’s ruled offside 🤯 The beautiful game can sometimes be so cruel. pic.twitter.com/clDrRyjitu — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 3, 2026 By the letter of the law, this might have been the right call. The sensors inside the ball detected a slight touch.  But this was also the sort of call that would never be made without modern replay technology. It was imperceptible to the naked eye and ruined an amazing moment.   So is VAR ruining the World Cup?  VAR has definitely changed the World Cup, but whether it's for better or worse depends on what viewers value most. Yes, players and fans now hesitate before celebrating goals while they wait and see if a review for a foul or offside is required. Yes, marginal offside calls and incidental handballs can feel like the technology is outweighing the spirit of the game. Yes, technology that was supposed to reduce refereeing controversy is instead shifting it from the field to the video replay center.  But, on the other hand, VAR is making the tournament more accurate. High-stakes knockout matches are less likely to be decided by undeserved goals, missed penalties and other obvious refereeing errors.  The Henry handball never would have gone undetected at a modern World Cup. Nor would the Lampard goal.  That's a step in the right direction.  Now, maybe FIFA needs to fine-tune its system to limit reviews to clearer errors.