Top 10 VAR controversies

There have been plenty of VAR controversies since its introduction

Wednesday night's drama in Paris is not the first time the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has been involved in controversy.

Manchester United stunned Paris Saint - Germain by becoming the first team in the history of the Champions League to advance to the next round having lost in the first leg of a knockout match by two or more goals at home.

However, the visitors relied on Marcus Rashford's late penalty, awarded by Presnel Kimpembe for handball after the VAR's intervention, to promote to the last eight of Europe's premier club competition.

The champions of the Ligue 1 were furious at the spot kick award, with their injured forward Neymar calling it a "disgrace," but it's just the latest in a long line of controversy involving the VAR ...

1) ' You're not giving such a penalty in a World Cup final '

2018 World Cup Football VAR

When the VAR took center stage in Moscow, the 2018 World Cup final was delicately balanced at 1 - 1 approaching half - time.

A corner from the right was flicked on by Blaise Matuidi and the ball struck Ivan Perisic's hand, although the midfielder seemed to know little about it.

Referee Nestor Pitana initially signaled for just one corner, but a VAR review was initiated and after watching numerous replays, the Argentine reversed his original decision and awarded the penalty after consulting pitch - side replays converted by Antoine Griezmann.

However, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic disagreed with the decision, saying: "I never comment on refereeing, but let me say one phrase: you don't give such a penalty in a World Cup final."

2) Paris Match

MANU vs PSG VAR

United somehow got the better of PSG on away goals last Wednesday night in the Champions League but only after they got a controversial injury - time penalty in the second leg at the Parc des Princes.

The decision came after PSG defender Kimpembe was finally penalized for handball as referee Damir Skomina ruled that after watching replays he had blocked the shot of Diogo Dalot with his arm.

According to Dermot Gallagher, the spot kick would never be given in the Premier League, though, even when VAR comes to England.

3) VAR's international debut

The VAR in use at the 2017 Confederations Cup

During the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia our first look at the VAR in the international arena came, although it did not go smoothly.

During the tournament, there were numerous hiccups, culminating in referee Milorad Mazic failing to upgrade the yellow card given to Chile's Gonzalo Jara to a red for what appeared to be a clear elbow on German striker Timo Werner.

The official finally consulted the technology after complaints from Germany. But he chose not to send Jara off despite the evidence.

"Other sports have to look at it and think about what a joke football is," Lee Dixon, former defender of the arsenal, told ITV.

"Everyone in the box who thinks it's a yellow card should be locked up, put in a van, and somewhere driven away."

4) Tunisia get shirty with Kane

Harry Kane goes down in the area against Tunisia

After failing to award Gareth Southgate's side two penalties, England's opening group - stage victory over Tunisia in the 2018 World Cup was marred by more VAR controversy.

England was convinced that they should have been given spot kicks after what Ferjani Sassi and Yassine Meriah, bundled to the floor on both occasions, seemed to be clear - cut fouls.

However, the man who mattered most disagreed, although FIFA subsequently analyzed precisely why VAR Sandro Ricci had not told referee Wilmar Roldan to look at the tuchline monitor incidents.

5) Spot-on decision at the home of football

Kane  spot against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final after a VAR referral

The VAR decided on Spurs ' Carabao Cup semi - final first - leg tie with Chelsea, but again after the game there was much talk about the key decision in the tie.

Kane was the match - winner of the hosts from the Wembley penalty spot in January, but it was the spot kick award that was debated so hotly in the first place.

Kane was deemed by the video assistant to be on hand, overturning the decision on the touchline by the assistant referee, before being updated by Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea's keeper.

In the meantime, Chelsea had a different view of the incident, with the Blues subsequently revealing their own angle that seemed to show that the Spurs striker was offside.

6) 'Incompetency of the highest order'

The VAR once again dominated Manchester City's 3 - 2 first - leg win over Schalke in their last-16 Champions League clash in February 2019.

On this occasion, the controversy centered around how long it took for referee Carlos del Cerro Grande to award a handball against Nicolas Otamendi to the Bundesliga side the first of their first two - half penalties.

Apparently because of a technical issue, the official did not review the incident himself on the side of the pitch, while there were also no replays on the big screens or any other indication of what was going on in the Veltins Arena.

However, Grande eventually awarded Schalke a spot kick after a three - minute delay accompanied by boos, from which Nabil Bentaleb levelled matters at night.

7) VAR's English bow

VAR made its English football debut at Anfield in January 2018 in a highly eventful fourth - round FA Cup clash between Liverpool and West Brom.

And referee Craig Pawson was a busy man, chalking off the header for offside from Craig Dawson, then awarding the hosts a penalty for a pull on Mo Salah, before ruling out a ' goal ' for a foul from Baggies.

8) England pay the penalty

England appeared on the course for a 1 - 0 win over Italy in March 2018, that is until Wembley's VAR's late intervention.

Referee Deniz Aytekin decided that defender James Tarkowski had caught Federico Chiesa in the box with the resulting penalty being converted by Lorenzo Insigne.

England manager Gareth Southgate, however, did not believe that in the first place a clear and obvious error had been made, complaining: "I think my only observation in this instance would be that I don't think it's clear and obvious."

9)  An 'embarrassing' FA Cup episode at Wembley

The VAR was first introduced in the 2017 - 18 FA Cup, but its debut was again dominated by several controversial calls, none more so than in a fifth - round replay at Wembley between Tottenham and Rochdale.

On that occasion, after spotting a foul in the build - up, though after a long delay, referee Paul Tierney first disallowed Erik Lamela's early strike before the official then consulted the technology to award a penalty to the home team.

Tierney first awarded Spurs a free kick for a foul on Kieran Trippier, only after another intervention from the VAR to change his mind.

Although Heung - Min Son converted the spot kick to double the lead of Spurs, his ' goal ' was actually ruled out after his stuttering run - up was deemed illegal.

However, Argentina was scathing after Mauricio Pochettino's side won the tie 6 - 1, calling the VAR confusion "embarrassing."

10) When is a red not a red?

As mentioned earlier, in the 2017 Confederations Cup, the VAR endured a rocky international bow, and none more so than during a match between Germany and Cameroon in Group B.

Now, having caught Emre Can with a high tackle by Ernest Mabouka, referee Wimar Roldan first booked the wrong player Sebastian Siani.

The Colombian, however, looked at the challenge on the Touchline TV monitor, only to add to his initial error by sending Siani off.

Cameroon complained and he finally got to the right decision after Roldan reviewed the incident for a second time and dismissed Mabouka.

Chris Gayle clues that he might reverse the ODI cricket retirement decision!

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle clued that after inflicting another brutal innings on England, he might reverse his decision to retire from one - day international cricket.

Before the drawn series against Eoin Morgan's team, the Windies batsman announced that he would quit international 50-over cricket at the end of the World Cup this summer.

But Gayle was against England in electric form, scoring in four innings for two centuries and two fifties, culminating in a 27-ball 77 in St Lucia's final fixture, a knock with nine sixes.

"We'll just have to wait and see. Maybe I'd say something else on another day. We'll wait for now to see what's going on." said Chris Gayle.

"Captain [ Jason Holder ] said in the final game that when I strike the ball so well, he can't understand how I can announce my retirement. The youngsters have something to feed off." 

Gayle finished the series with 424 runs at an average of 106 with a top score of 162 in Grenada, while he muscled 39 sixes over his four knocks – taking his maximum tally in all forms of international cricket combined with a record of 515.

The Jamaican also revealed his blistering 77 in St Lucia, with the "wrong bat" coming up with Windies passing England's total of 113 in just 12.1 overs.

"I think from a personal point of view this must be my best ODI tournament - but I'm not sure, I'm not a person of statistics so I can't remember a lot of statistics," Gayle said. 

"I know I had a good series, but this one was exceptional - it's fantastic to be able to do it at home. It's also great to average a hundred against England."

"I played in a few T20 series and did n't really get runs [ despite ] putting in the work - I was like ' what's going on? That's my format and why I've been branded the T20 King!"

"I was like ' whoever gets the willow will feel it, ' and fortunately it was at home against England.

"I picked the wrong bat today - so things are going on! 

"I did n't want to rhythm the bowlers and get on top of us.

"Sometimes it can be a bit tricky when you chase a small total, so I said ' let's try to push it over in the first and see if it works - and it did. '

"I'm in a bit of shape as well so I can see the ball better.

"If you put them on the back foot, they're going to forget how good a wicket is to bowl on and play as batters in our hands."

The captain of Real Madrid Sergio Ramos charged for procuring yellow card deliberately

Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos was charged by UEFA for deliberately receiving a yellow card in the match against Ajax in the Champions League to serve a suspension before the quarter-finals.

Defender Ramos was booked on February 13 in the 89th minute of Madrid's 2-1 victory in Amsterdam, which meant that he would miss the second leg of the last-16 tie at the Bernabeu.

Ramos was quoted speaking immediately after the match as saying he "would lie" if he deliberately refused to earn the booking.

However, Ramos later used social media to emphasize that it was not intended to collect a caution, but to deliberately give a free kick to prevent an Ajax equalizer.

UEFA initiated a disciplinary investigation and confirmed that Ramos was charged under Article 15 on Tuesday evening. Ramos was booked on Kasper Dolberg of Ajax for a foul.

If found guilty when the UEFA Control handles the case, 28 February Ethics and Disciplinary Body, A prolonged suspension could punish Ramos.

Geoffrey Kondogbia, a midfielder of Valencia, was recently granted a two-game ban by UEFA after being ruled to be cautious during the Europa League win at Celtic.

Ramos also interviewed the Spanish newspaper Marca to deny any wrongdoing once again.

"I'm very surprised about all this.  I was referring to forcing the foul, It was an inevitable foul. Not to forcing the booking," Ramos Said.

Asked whether he knew that the foul would lead to a yellow card and a ban, he said, "Yes, but I had no choice." 

"In the 88th minute, it was a very dangerous counter-attack, with an open match and tie. "

"That's why I said I'd lie if I said I didn't know I had a penalty, Just as I knew I had no choice but to make a wrong.  And that's what I meant when I said you have to make difficult decisions in football."

Ramos said more: "In the group stage match against Roma, I could do it if I wanted to force a penalty, Because we were already classified as the first of the groups and the last game was inconsistent against CSKA. By the way, I didn't play in that match."

Ronaldo is behind Comprising with Messi and M Bappe

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has had a lot of competition with Lionel Messi when Ronaldo was in Real Madrid. After joining Ronaldo Juventus, although the fight of the two did not end, but the excitement is somewhat decreasing. Ronaldo himself can not get out of the way. Ronaldo is the highest scorer in Italian Serie A but he is behind the chances of winning 'European Golden shoe' comparing with Messi and MBappe. 

During at Barcelona's last match Messi was making a hat-trick against Sevilla and he left behind everyone. Messi is the highest scorer in La Liga this Season, he scored 25 goals. If it is counted 2 points per goal, Messi has achieved 50 points and he is above the winning list for Golden Shoe. MBappe scored 22 goals and has achieved 44 points. Ronaldo has scored 19 goals ans has achieved  38 points. Messi and Ronaldo will still play 13 matches in their own league. PSG star MBappe will get 12 matches in the league one.

Ronaldo is getting an opportunity to catch Messi and MBappe, but the another one is also breathing on his shoulder. Christopher Pionti an ordinary forward of Poland. However, in this season there is no way to tell him ordinary. This forward scored 18 goals for Genoa and AC Milan and now he is the second highest scorer in the Serie A. Pionti is  showing the courage to overtake Ronaldo with 36 points. After that, four stars - Edinson Cavani, Sergio Aguero, Fabio Quagalierla and Mohammad Salah - scored equal 17 goals.

Boycott Pakistan in World Cup: Harbhajan

Harbhajan Singh

In the event of militant attacks in Kashmir India's cricket has kept pace with anti-Pakistan protests. Removing the pictures of Pakistani legend cricketers at the Punjab stadium and Mumbai, Stop the broadcasting of the PSL- India is protesting in all possible ways. It is now demanding to boycott the India-Pakistan match in the upcoming World Cup. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh also agreed with the claims made by CCI Secretary Suresh Bafnar.

India should boycott matches against Pakistan in the interest of the country, If need India should walkover- Said Harbhajan Singh. "We should not play against Pakistan in any way. If we do not get three points against Pakistan, we can be the champions of the World Cup. Let's have three points."

Not only Cricket, He has demanded to end all relations with Pakistan. 'First of all, the country. Our soldiers are dying again and again. Not just cricket, no sport should be played with Pakistan. There is no longer any need to keep our relationship with them. We are next to each member of the army. Their self-sacrifice should not be in vain.'

Harbhajan hopes his country should teach Pakistan, 'We are going through hard times. What happened is unfair, incredible. Our government must take any tough action against Pakistan.'

But Harbhajan demand will be met at all? When asked about the issue of IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, he replied a little bit diplomatically, 'I can not say now whether we will take part in the India-Pakistan match. The World Cup is still very late. Let's see what happens. ' But without the consent of the Indian government that India will not participate in any bilateral cricket series with Pakistan, he has made it very clear, 'Our position is clear. If the government does not say we will not play with Pakistan.Sport above all, that's okay, but when the country is attacked by a terrorist attack, its influence also in the sport.'

Pictures of their legendary cricketers are being removed, - Not so happy Pakistan too.   With a counter-statement of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the picture of the Pakistani players have been covered or have been removed, they are not satisfied. They will also talk to Indian board officials about the matter in the ICC meeting scheduled this month, the PCB said.

Messi has made 'Half Century' with 'Century'!

Messi against Olympiacos F.C.

No club of Greece could ever win at Nou Camp. Barcelona have won six times each and every time they win. Seventh times and the trend does not change. Barcelona have won 3-1 goals against Olympiacos F.C. The most successful club in Greece's football history.


Although most successful in the home, Olympiacos is quite unknown in Europe to Barcelona. In the Champions League, the two teams met in the first competitive match on Wednesday night. There was One-sided fight taking 10 players and Messi has made '100' and '50'.


The fans were waiting for a goal from Messi. Messi could touch 100 goals milestone at European club event. But in 61th minute Messi has made two milestones together from a free kick with a great goal. It was his 100th goal in the European club event and 50th goal in the current calendar in total combining his country and club. It is again seventh time in the last eight calendar!

From 2010 to 2017, within this eight year, Only Messi made 45 goals in 46 matches in 2013. In addition, in the remaining seven years, scored a minimum of 50 goals.


Messi is now the second player to score hundreds in UEFA organized club event. He had to play 122 matches to make this record.

Klopp's reaction

Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp admitted he nearly clapped Jamie Vardy after the striker scored from an audacious effort against Liverpool.

"Things like this happen when you are in such a good moment like Jamie Vardy and Leicester are," Klopp said. "Obviously you need a little bit of luck but it was really good. First of all you need to be brave enough to do it.

"It's the perfect season for Leicester and the perfect season for Jamie Vardy. They deserve every point they get and Jamie has deserved every goal he's scored until now. I was close to clapping my hands to be honest but I just felt too bad at that moment," he continued.

"At the end, the game is decided by a world-class goal from Jamie Vardy," Klopp added. "One second before we were in their box and we didn't shoot. That maybe shows you the difference.