Uncategorized

C’est Magnifique! France Wins FIFA World Cup 2018 After 20 Years

Handball, as a rule, needs a clearer definition as VAR comes into play again

Undoubtedly the most controversial moment of the first half came when Ivan Perisic was (eventually) adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, after an extensive period of checking the footage by the referee. The ball touched the Inter midfielder’s hand, of that there is no doubt, but after that, the rules aren’t exactly clear.

The Video Assistant Referee system was brought in for the first time at the 2018 World Cup and dominated headlines throughout the group stages of this tournament.

However, after several contentious early decisions – including Australia paying the penalty against France, and that amusingly chaotic finale to Group B – VAR has rather dropped out of the spotlight since the quarter-final between Belgium and Brazil when several decisions went against an increasingly frustrated Neymar.

Until the final, that is. After scoring that memorable goal, Perišić then appeared to flick out his hand when attempting to clear Matuidi’s missed duff header across the box. The referee was initially unmoved, only for the VAR to advise him to watch the incident on the pitch-side monitor. He deliberated for an awfully long time before eventually awarding the spot-kick. It certainly didn’t look a “clear and obvious error” and appeared far worse in slow motion – but all of that is inconsequential. The penalty was given, Griezmann scored and the game had changed.

It’s unclear whether or not Perisic touched it deliberately – given how close Blaise Matuidi was to him and how little time he would have had to react either way, it seems unlikely but not impossible. And yet, would that even matter in the strictest interpretation of the rules? Some referees, upon seeing the footage,  would not have given the penalty for that, and some (like Nestor Pitana today) would. It’s subjectivity that FIFA would do well to cut out of their laws and clear up what should and should count as a handball worth penalising.