The World Cup quarter-finals start on Thursday evening with the clash between France and Morocco at Gillette Stadium, where we’ll see a change to do with VAR for the first time
FIFA have decided that VAR officials will be stationed inside the stadium for every remaining match at the World Cup. They’d previously been working from a central hub in Dallas, Texas, throughout the tournament.
But from the quarter-finals onwards, the officials will be on location, starting with Thursday’s clash between France and Morocco. FIFA have decided to place the VAR officials at stadiums instead of the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas to safeguard against any potential technical issues.
France against Morocco is one of several knockout ties to make headlines for its refereeing – this time without even kicking off. Five of the seven officials selected by FIFA for the quarter-final in Boston are Argentine, including the main referee (Facundo Tello) and main VAR official (Hernan Mastrangelo).
Like at the last World Cup in Qatar, there are allegations that officials are favouring Argentina. A debate exploded in the aftermath of Argentina’s controversial 3-2 victory over Egypt, who saw multiple key decisions go against them.
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“They want Messi to stay in the tournament,” Egypt boss Hossam Hassan claimed post-match. “In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests. What happened was unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team.”
FIFA’s refereeing chief, Pierluigi Collina, defended the officials involved in the round-of-16 tie, insisting that they can’t be influenced by anyone. “Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right. Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president.”
What do you make of the officiating at the World Cup? Have your say in the comments section.
FIFA have also been under fire after lifting Folarin Balogun’s ban which allowed the USA striker to play in their 4-1 defeat to Belgium. United States President Donald Trump revealed that he called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to complain about the decision.
The second quarter-final between and Spain and Belgium takes places at 8pm UK time on Friday before an action-packed weekend. England take on Norway at 10pm on Saturday before Argentina face Switzerland at 2am on Sunday.
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