Monday, October 25, 2021
“Collina’s heirs” praise teams
The VAR is better than its reputation
By Alex Feuerherdt
The video assistants switch on more frequently than usual on this Bundesliga matchday. But they are consistently right to do so – and even once too little. Overall, their interim results are positive.
A few days ago, the sports management of the referees in paid German football offered an online workshop for media representatives. For two hours it was also and not least about the video assistants, with whom referee chief Lutz Michael Fröhlich and VAR project manager Jochen Drees have been satisfied so far this season. In the first seven days of the match, there were 28 interventions from Cologne, 27 of which were justified, summed up Drees. In one case the VAR intervened wrongly, but the referee’s final decision was not wrong. The video assistant did not intervene twice, although it should have done it.
This interim balance may not agree with the emotional world of some fans, but anyone who believes that the sporting management is glossing over reality should be reminded that their statistics have been much less positive in the past. The VAR is being used in the fifth season, and you can clearly see the experience gained in its use. The predictability of interventions and non-interventions as well as the quality of interventions have clearly improved, and Jochen Drees often relies on pairing, as it were, by maintaining well-functioning combinations of referee and VAR. At international tournaments, video assistants from the Bundesliga are among those with the most appearances.
On the 8th match day there was only one – undoubtedly justified – intervention from the video center, after an initially unpunished handball in the game between Borussia Dortmund and 1. FSV Mainz 05. The video assistants intervened six times last weekend. This increased the number of interventions this season to 35, which is an average of almost four per game day, one more than in the previous season. But a quick check shows that the interventions are justified.
Musiala fouls, Forsberg not offside
FC Bayern Munich – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (4-0): Serge Gnabry scores after eight minutes for Bayern, but his shot on goal was preceded by a clear foul play by the template provider Jamal Musiala: The Munich player hit Florian Grillitsch twice unfairly in the leg area when he won the ball, causing him to lose the ball. Because referee Matthias Jöllenbeck has not seen this irregularity, VAR Robert Schröder rightly intervenes. There is an on-field review, after which the Referee cancels the hit.
RB Leipzig – SpVgg Greuther Fürth (4: 1): Shortly after the break, Yussuf Poulsen equalizes for the hosts to make it 1-1, but referee Christian Dingert initially refuses to acknowledge the goal: Emil Forsberg is said to have been offside when Poulsen shot on goal and significantly impaired the view of the visiting goalkeeper Marius Funk on the ball . During the review, however, video assistant Pascal Müller quickly finds out that Forsberg was not offside. Dingert then still gives the gate.
It is just as correct that Müller does not intervene in both penalty kicks: Shortly before the break, Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele only gets a header because he jumps on Jamie Leweling and pushes him to the ground. And after 52 minutes, the Fürth Marco Meyerhöfer wrestles his opponent Poulsen in the penalty area. Both penalties are at least justifiable, and the checks are carried out quickly, even with the alleged offside goal.
Casteels versus Kübler: accident or negligence?
VfL Wolfsburg – SC Freiburg (0-2): When Freiburg’s Philipp Lienhart hits the Wolfsburg goal in the 27th minute after a free kick and referee Tobias Welz, following the flag of his assistant, recognizes the offside, the television images seem to prove the correctness of the decision at first glance. But VAR Sascha Stegemann finds out that Kevin Mbabu’s left heel was much closer to the Wolfsburg goal line than Lienhart’s right shoulder at the moment of the free kick. Therefore, referee Tobias Welz finally correctly declared the hit to be valid.
Three minutes later, Renato Steffen from Wolfsburg clears the ball in a dangerous situation against Lukas Kübler in his own penalty area. As a result, his goalkeeper Koen Casteels, who has also moved in the direction of the ball and can no longer brake in time, literally clears the Freiburg man with his knees in a sliding motion. The referee lets play, but his video assistant recommends a review. In the end, Welz sticks to his decision not to give a penalty.
In normal practice, it is true that unfortunate actions such as crossing or colliding off the ball are assessed as an accident and not punished. But here the ball was initially still close to the game when Casteels and Kübler moved towards it, whereby the Wolfsburg goalkeeper took a greater risk and was also the more active part. To judge his boarding as negligent – even if he pulled his legs up while sliding – and to punish him with a penalty would have been much closer. It was therefore correct that the VAR intervened.
Assault by Rexhbecaj?
Hertha BSC – Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-0): In this encounter, too, the video assistant is right to switch on, after just eight minutes. Because if there was any contact between Maximilian Mittelstädts foot on the heel or Achilles tendon of Gladbacher Joseph Scally, it was so minimal that it was certainly not the decisive factor that Scally went down in the Berlin penalty area. After the review on the recommendation of VAR Robert Kampka, referee Benjamin Cortus also withdraws his penalty decision.
VfL Bochum – Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0): After ten minutes, Sebastian Polter from Bochum blocks the ball in his own penalty area with his right arm, unnaturally increasing his target area. Referee Marco Fritz did not notice the clearly criminal handball, so video assistant Markus Schmidt sent him to the review area. Then there is a fully justified penalty for the guests, which Gonçalo Paciência misses – Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann can hold the ball almost effortlessly.
Another intervention by the VAR would at least be understandable: When the Bochum-based Elvis Rexhbecaj first played the ball against Rafael Borré after 39 minutes in an emotionally charged situation and then decided to strike out again and kick his opponent’s thigh with his left foot, there is much to be said for a rating as assault. A pack then also forms, but the referee lets Rexhbecaj get away with it completely. Perhaps the VAR’s kick intensity is too low to recommend a review, but that’s not because of Rexhbecaj. Even if slow motion often makes things seem a little more dramatic, it is difficult to convey why there is no red card here.
The video assistants rightly intervened six times this weekend and helped avoid five clear wrong decisions. Once the referee surprisingly decided against changing his decision, and once the VAR did not intervene where it would have been advisable. As with the referees, video assistants are mostly an issue when they do something controversial or make mistakes. It would make sense to take a look at how many wrong decisions they actually prevent. One may take that for granted, but it is still worth mentioning.