FIFA makes important VAR update for World Cup quarter-finals following feedback
FIFA has made a big change to how Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions are handled for the rest of the World Cup after some complaints about the refereeing quality.
Before the quarter-final between France and Morocco, all VAR calls were made from the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Dallas, Texas. But now, FIFA will have the main VAR official and a backup VAR official right at the stadium to avoid any technical problems.
For the France vs. Morocco game, Uruguay’s Leodan Gonzalez is there to support the referees in case the connection to Dallas has issues. Nicaragua’s Tatiana Guzman is the reserve VAR at Boston Stadium. They are joined by an all-Argentinian refereeing team, including lead referee Facundo Tello and assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade.
This change comes after some controversial matches in the round of 16, like Argentina’s comeback win over Egypt. Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan accused the French referee Francois Letexier of being unfair. He said, “The referee is unfair… The cup is directed towards Argentina.” Egypt’s player Mostafa Ziko agreed, saying the referee was biased against them.
England’s coach Thomas Tuchel was also unhappy with the refereeing during their win over Mexico, calling it “not good enough” and “unreliable.”
FIFA’s chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, defended the officials, saying that while it’s normal to talk about decisions, unfair accusations don’t belong in football. He stressed that the integrity of the referees can’t be questioned and that such claims can lead to threats against officials and their families, which is unacceptable. He also made clear that FIFA refereeing cannot be influenced by anyone, not even the FIFA president.