The VAR intervened 18 times in the 51 matches played in the recently completed Eurocup with 100% success and the referees were correct in 93.5% of the decisions made on the field, according to UEFA on Wednesday in a digital meeting in the one that EFE participated in, in which it considered “correct” the maximum penalty awarded to Englishman Raheem Sterling in the England-Denmark semifinal.
UEFA's chief referee, the Italian Roberto Rosetti, assured that “he never received so many congratulations” for the performance of the referees in the Eurocup and that of those responsible for the VAR, with a special thank you dedicated to the Spanish Carlos Velasco, who coordinated working in Nyon “in all 51 games”.
The recently completed European Championship, won by Italy in the final against England, recorded fewer fouls compared to the France 2016 edition (-176), more minutes of effective play (2 minutes and 21 seconds more), fewer yellow cards (-31 ), but more red (6 for the 3 of France 2016) and more penalties (17 for the 12 of France).
Six of these maximum penalties were awarded after VAR revision, a technology that was not yet used in the French edition, won by Portugal.
The VAR, which this year worked from UEFA headquarters in Nyon, controlled a total of 276 situations, about five per game, with one correction every 2.83 games.
There were 18 corrections in 51 games, ten direct and eight after review in the field, and all of them “did not create debate,” said Rosetti, who stressed that you can “accept errors in the field, but not VAR.”
The chief referee praised the referees, who got 93.5% of their decisions right on the pitch, as well as footballers and coaches for their “fair play” and “respect shown.”
The VAR needed an average of one hundred seconds to make its decisions, adding controls in the field, controls in Nyon and other communications, and only corrected one decision starting in the quarterfinals.
Rosetti thinks Dutch referee Danny Makkelie hit Sterling on the penalty
Rosetti transparently analyzed the decision that generated the most controversy in the tournament, that of the penalty awarded by Dutch Danny Makkelie to Raheem Sterling in the extension of the semifinal that qualified England against Denmark. In his opinion, the VAR did well not to intervene, since the contact exists and the penalty is correct.
“It was not a scandal, it is something to talk about. We have no secrets. Makkelie saw No. 5 (Danish Joakim Maelhe) not hit the ball, he saw a clear contact between the legs. We can debate, but that's the point. he saw. We can talk about the entity of the contact. We want the referees to be in the center and the VAR has to be very careful, “he said.
“We are talking about a sport in which there is a lot of gray, not just black and white. There are many borderline situations. VAR is not perfect, forget it. We will never cancel the debate. If we start to control all kinds of situations with VAR, we will create a great confusion. Penalties can change the outcome of a match. I don't want light penalties. In that situation there was a clear action from the defender, a clear knee-to-knee impact, “he added.
He also paid heartfelt praise to Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers, who directed the Italy-England final, whom he defined as “a person of great human values” who was chosen “with merit after a brilliant career”.