Swiss penalty would have had video – Referee
The decision to award Switzerland a penalty against Northern Ireland would have been automatically reviewed by a Video Assistant Referee (VAR), had the system been in place.
Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan pointed to the spot in the second half when Xherdan Shaqiri’s shot hit the top of Corry Evans’ arm as the Northern Ireland midfielder turned his back.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill called the decision in the first leg of their World Cup play-off “bewildering”.
Last year, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) – the game’s lawmakers – approved a two-year live experiment to assist referees and match officials for “clear errors in match-changing situations” including goals, penalty incidents and red cards.
Hategan’s decision would have been automatically reviewed under the new VAR system.
A video referee was not used at Windsor Park because FIFA – world football’s governing body – has not introduced the experimental system in its World Cup qualifying matches, as all referees must undertake lengthy additional training sessions before they are allowed to use VARs.
It is understood Hategan’s performance will be assessed by a referee observer in line with standard practice after every international match, and it could affect his ability to officiate at the FIFA World Cup in Russia next summer.
Around 20 countries are currently taking part in experiments involving the use of VARs and they have received “very positive” reviews from leagues trialling the system during a two-day summit in Switzerland this week.
The system is in full use in Italy, Germany, Portugal, the United States (Major League Soccer) and South Korea.
The VAR system will be used in England’s international against Germany at Wembley on Friday after the first trial of the system passed without incident during last month’s 2017 Wembley Cup match.
IFAB will announce next March whether the system can be used worldwide and FIFA will make the final decision over whether VARs will be used in next summer’s World Cup in Russia. skysports.com
