VAR has been the most controversial technological foray into sport. The Assistant video referee It emerged in 2016 as a proposal by FIFA to give referees more tools during matches so they can review games in which they had doubts about the decision made. from a simple foul to an illegal goal.

It was not received in the best way, as initially his review and subsequent review was delayed, which wasted more time than usual, and for some fans it dampened the excitement after a goal celebration. Over the years, the system has improved, but it is still hated by many.

His breakthrough was gradual until he reached Russia 2018, the first world event in which he was actively involved. Total 440 motions and 16 out of 19 decisions were considered referee, were correctly confirmed by VAR, so president Gianni Infantino described it as “progress”

“It’s better than in the past. VAR didn’t change football, it made it cleaner. It made it honest and transparent and helped referees make the right decisions.”he said after the summit meeting in Moscow.

However; What would have happened to football and its history if VAR had ventured from the first date in 1930? Hard to determine due to the technological advances of the time, of course. but in this fantasy game… What would be those projects that would change? The Sporting News will review some of them in four editions.

The penalty was not imposed in Spain

The edition starts in chronological order, going back to the World Cup in Chile 1962. This edition was won by Brazil in a memorable final against Czechoslovakia in which they won 3-1. This Amazon team was led by Garrincha, and he led his team to win their second World Cup.

However, before playing that game, in the group stage, the South Americans shared the group stage with the Czech Republic, Mexico and Spain. On the final day, the finalists had four points and the Iberians three. Brazil and the Red They were measured at the Sausalito Stadium in Viña del Mar.

Spain came out on top and won 1-0. With that momentum, the Europeans were on top and the reigning champions held on. An attack was stopped suspiciously by Nilton Santos, within 16.50, but that the starter determined as a foul on the edge of the area.

“I stopped a counter-attack from them with a penalty. I immediately took a step forward and raised my hands. The referee was too far away and called for a foul. If Spain had scored the second goal, we would have lost. We started to win the title there », the player who died in 2013 commented at the time.

If the penalty had been awarded and if Spain had then scored, only the Europeans would have qualified for the quarter-finals and the champions would have had an early home.

The No goal of the 66 final

England’s World Cup brought with it a lot of controversy, even before the tournament started. Months before the start of the tournament, the Jules Rimet trophy was hacked in London and for days, national police and investigators searched everywhere until it was finally found.

Apart from this anecdote, we remember that it was the first World Cup to be televised in color (first and last game), because it had an official mascot – friendly Willie – and for Jeff Hurst’s ghost goal. That’s right, in the final England faced a mighty Germany led through Helmut Haller. The British turned it around, but in the final fractions of the game, the Teutons equalized and sent the game into overtime.

In this case, what the football world knows today, except for the Swiss Gottfried Dienst and his assistant, happened. Hurst turned into the area, ran on in the 101st minute and finished strongly to give the ball hit the post and then bounced over the goal line (no more inbounds). The locals immediately celebrated and caused confusion between the main and line, who upheld the commentary before the visitors’ claim. The game continued and Hurst celebrated the 4-2 final in the breath of the match. The most controversial final in history.

What would VAR decide? Well, it wasn’t a guarantee that Germany would have won, but at least they would have maintained the level of the match so far and maybe the result would have been different.

Spain v Italy 1994 – Tasotti’s elbow on Luis Enrique

How was it not red or criminal? Well, because there was no VAR. but that day, for the quarter-finals of the World Cup in the United States, Spain fell victim to a controversial refereeing decision (which is already a trend). The Vacancy won 2-1 at the end of the match with goals from Dino and Roberto Baggio. The Red he had discounted through José Luis Pérez Caminero and was looking for a tie at all costs.

In the 90+3 minute, a cross into the area came from the right wing looking for Luis Enrique, but he never reached the ball, because Mauro Tassotti stopped abruptlya defender who elbowed the Spaniard in the nose, leaving him lying on the grass with blood on his face.

The claim of the Spaniards and the midfielder himself did not wait, but the cold look of the center back, the Hungarian Sandor Pool and his narrow eyes on what really happened and did not make a decision. Three minutes into the match, he left one of the most memorable scenes in football history.

Byron Moreno and his show in South Korea

Ecuador could easily be declared persona non grata in Italy after their very poor refereeing in the last 16 of the World Cup in Asia, in which the Europeans were one of the favourites. Even so, the hosts qualified top of Group D ahead of the United States and Portugal, while the three-time champions were second in Group G behind Mexico.

On paper, the Vacancy It had to happen, but the manager made sure the opposite happened. The first controversial play came in minute 5 when he whistled a penalty in favor of the locals. Jung-hwan Ahn kicked but Buffon made a save on the line. Christian Vieri then made it 1-0 in the 19th minute and everything was normal, despite the Asians’ rough play.

Seol Ki-hyeon equalized on 88 with his left foot and the nightmare for Italy started from there: Lee Chun-su, in ’90, kicked Paolo Maldini in the head, but the referee didn’t even see it. In overtime, Francesco Totti brought down in the area but Moreno sent him off (double yellow) when he interpreted an alleged simulation of the Roma striker and then disallowed a legitimate goal from Damiano Tommasi for he was supposed to be in front position, when he wasn’t.

Jung-hwan Ahn finally scored the golden goal (applied at the time) just minutes from the end of regulation time to complete the Koreans’ heroics. Too bad (for Italy) that VAR didn’t exist yet.

Moreno’s career was derailed when he was subsequently suspended by FIFA and arrested in 2011 after attempting to smuggle 6.2kg of suspected cocaine into the United States.