Referees

It’s rare we get to do this, so let’s take a moment today to celebrate FIFA for having some common sense. Football’s world governing body confirmed the use of video assistant referees at this summer’s Women’s World Cup. The Women's World Cup VAR decision was made Friday, a month after FIFA trialed the technology with referees at the Al Kass Cup, a youth club competition. 

This will be the first time VAR is in use for a Women’s World Cup. 

First things first, before we talk about controversy or points of contention with referees, we have to simply talk about the game and how it actually flowed. After Atlético Madrid’s sensational performance at the Wanda Metropolitano on Feb. 20, this was an absolute debacle at Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.

It’s difficult to remember a time when Diego Simeone got things so ineffably wrong. How could Atlético go from this (cojones): 

Last Sunday, an indoor soccer match between Rockford, Illinois-based San Jose FC and FC Wisconsin U-19 descended into madness in Brookfield, Wisconsin, when a skirmish ultimately resulted in a referee getting punched in the face.

The referee, 50-year-old Terry From, approached a boy who’d thrown a water bottle in his direction, identified as the 12-year-old son of San Jose FC’s coach, before being punched by a 17-year-old San Jose FC player, identified as the older brother of the 12-year-old. 

As Manchester United wildly celebrated two ludicrously self-inflicted PSG errors and a contentious, VAR-influenced handball decision to advance to the last eight of Europe (we won’t begrudge Red Devil supporters after the life and times of David Moyes, LVG and Jose Mourinho, but if you thought Liverpool fans were getting annoying with the EPL title at hand, this is a stern reminder that United’s fanbase is built of the exact same stuff), PSG was left to rue another night of historical ineptitude. 

It’s easy to be critical of the Premier League thinking its referees are good enough to not need the help of video replay to get calls right. So we’ll do just that. The North London Derby highlights were marred by two penalty calls that VAR never would have allowed, resulting in a 1-1 draw between Tottenham and Arsenal on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

The result meant the end to Spurs’ remarkable run of 35 Premier League matches without a draw, a Premier League record.

The Video Assistant Referee is in use in the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time this week. So of course conspiracy theorists are already hard at work trying to figure out the Ajax disallowed goal that helped Real Madrid grab a 2-1 away win in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday. 

UEFA, thankfully, is smarter than the English FA and decided to start using VAR for the Champions League in the Round of 16 instead of waiting for next season. The first two matches Tuesday were without controversy and the VAR was not required. 

Alvaro Morata had to leave Chelsea — he really had no choice after his form and confidence seemingly dissipated after a slew of shocking missed opportunities. So he returned to Madrid, where he started his professional career back nearly 10 years ago. Except, he joined Atletico, not Real. 

It’s fair to say that Liverpool did not enjoy Monday night's match against West Ham.

Going 1-0 up after 22 minutes through Sadio Mané, Liverpool struggled to clinch an important victory in the Premier League title race. Michail Antonio scored just six minutes later, and Liverpool could not respond.

West Ham on the other hand, should be happy the performance against Liverpool was a lot better than in recent matches and against the league leaders no less. West Ham’s manager, Manuel Pellegrini, was less than impressed with Liverpool’s goal and with Jurgen Klopp.

Will the 2019 Women’s World Cup use VAR? That’s the question on the minds of the countless players and coaches preparing for this summer’s tournament. 

About four months away from the start of the competition, FIFA has yet to confirm whether VAR will be in use at the Women’s World Cup. 

But it’s not time to panic just yet, for a couple reasons.