Fansided

VAR has not been kind to goalkeepers at this World Cup

By Clemente Lisi

TOPSHOT - Nigeria's players react to Honduran referee Melissa Borjas after she ruled a French penalty be re-hit due to the goalkeeper moving off the goal line during the France 2019 Women's World Cup Group A football match between Nigeria and France, on June 17, 2019, at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, western France. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Nigeria's players react to Honduran referee Melissa Borjas after she ruled a French penalty be re-hit due to the goalkeeper moving off the goal line during the France 2019 Women's World Cup Group A football match between Nigeria and France, on June 17, 2019, at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, western France. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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The use of video replay was supposed to end all debates. Then why are there more debates regarding calls by referees, especially in regards to goalkeeping?

The use of the Video Assistant Referee was supposed to make soccer better. Then why are we having more debates?

That’s the question many are asking after Monday’s France-Nigeria game, where the use of VAR by officials resulted in the re-taking of a penalty kick that Wendie Renard had originally missed. The result was a 1-0 win for the host nation.

Did the match officials get this one right remains a matter of debate nearly 24 hours after that game was contested.

France were given a penalty kick (after the use of VAR) in the 75th minute when Ngozi Ebere fouled Viviane Asseyi in the box. Renard stepped up to take the kick, but missed, with the ball hitting the right post and rolling out.

That’s when VAR was used once again, pointing out that goalie Chiamaka Nnadozie had moved off her line slightly just before the kick was taken. Nnadozie was given a yellow card and the penalty was ordered to be taken again. This time, Renard slotted it into the net.

Was referee Melissa Borjas of Honduras and the entire officiating crew, both on the field and in the booth, wrong? The rules of the game say the following: “The goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot on/in line with the goal line when the kick is taken; cannot stand behind the line.”

While this is true, this is the type of call a referee would never make in the pre-VAR days, especially if she gained no advantage from moving off the line early. In a way, technology is messing with those unwritten, and often unnoticed, rules that referees let go because it did little to change the outcome of a game.

In Renard’s case, her kick went wide. The goalie never touched the ball.

The call drew the ire of former players, from ‘keepers to strikers, who were watching the game.

A upset Nigeria’s coach Thomas Dennerby said after the game: “If I gave my honest opinion, they would send me home, so it’s better I don’t say anything. Of course I’m disappointed with the result. I feel so sorry because the girls were fighting so well, and they were following the game plan and they got destroyed by people we were not happy with.”

Next. Christina Unkel has been indispensable as Rules Analyst. dark

It’s not the first time VAR has forced the retaking of a PK. Four days ago, the Italy-Jamaica match featured a similar incident. With the game scoreless, a penalty kick was awarded to Italy, one that Cristiana Girelli missed. The kick was ordered to be taken again and Girelli scored. Italy would go on to win 5-0.

In the end, both the France and Italy games were conditioned by these calls. Goalkeepers, you’ve been put on notice. Referees are looking at your every move: don’t get out of (or is it off? ) your line.