Coaches and club managers have had problems with refereeing decisions for years. VAR hasn’t changed the situation, to say the least. The Premier League’s integration of semi-automated offside technology has been delayed until next season. The recent incident in La Liga contributed to this decision. What happened? And what does it have to do with Robert Lewandowski?
The Incident that Delayed the Automated System Integration
During the match between Barcelona and Real Sociedad, Robert Lewandowski’s goal was incorrectly disallowed after a VAR review. The wrong decision was caused by an error in the system, which wrongly identified the defender’s boot as Lewandowski’s and announced the goal to be scored from the offside position. The game ended with Barcelona’s 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad, making the rounds on social media. It turned out that Barcelona has quite a legitimate complaint.
In the 13th minute, Lewandowski scored the first goal, putting his club ahead. Later on, the goal was taken away due to offside. The system-generated image stated that Lewandowski’s foot was just centimeters away from Nayef Aguerd’s foot, who turned out to be the last covering defender. A detailed look at the incident showed a huge error made by the automated system. The VAR fails to meet the expectations of club managers and football fans following their favorite teams at GGBET.
Reactions Toward the Automated System Integration
The incident evoked some doubts about the reliability of the technology, demanding proper testing before integrating it into their matches. Journalists zoomed in on screenshots of the goal moment alongside the reconstruction generated by VAR. The comparison made it clear that the system had wrongly identified the intertwined arms of the two players, which resulted in an error. In other words, the VAR system got confused between the players’ feet remaining close to one another. The result of the investigation was shared with the audience, and massive protests were caused.
Hansi Flick, head coach of Barcelona, called the decision “a huge mistake.” The club’s sporting director, Deco, expressed his frustration during the interview given to Mundo Deportivo. According to the Spanish specialist, the semi-automatic system should be removed if it doesn’t work properly. Wrong decisions may influence the outcome of the match and even the club’s standing in the national rating. This is too much of a responsibility to impose on technology.
Dale Johnson, the football expert, claimed that the semi-automated offside system failed to identify the two players and made an incorrect offside call. It’s not about Barcelona, but the fair game for all teams. This time Barcelona faced an “unfair decision”. Next time, it could be Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, or any other team in La Liga.
Debates around the Future of Automated System Integration
Semi-automated offside has been established in some domestic leagues around the world, as well as in FIFA tournaments. Meanwhile, La Liga was the first victim of technology. Barcelona has already requested explanations from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), claiming that such errors make the whole VAR system less valid.
The Premier League has delayed integration of the VAR system, indicating the need for more testing. This seems to be the right decision. Once the incident in the Spanish league became known to the mass audience, the UK clubs made sure the system had no refereeing controversies. The Premier League plans to use the VAR system equipped with 28 cameras, featuring 10,000 data points per player to check offside positions. Despite differences with the UEFA’s system, it has to deal with the same issues. With that said, the integration of the technology won’t happen this season.
