European Football Championship Offside? Hand? Video evidence debate after Germany’s victory
Referee Michael Oliver had a lot to do with the VAR. Photo
© Marcus Brandt/dpa
Germany’s round of 16 match against Denmark will be significantly influenced by video evidence. Not everyone is happy with the decisions made by the referee teams.
Thomas Delaney’s toe saved the German national team from falling behind. Joachim Andersen’s minimal touch of the ball with his hand led to the decisive goal.
Video evidence and new impulse technology have had an impact on a knockout match like never before in the DFB selection’s 2-0 round of 16 victory over Denmark. This was not well received by everyone – Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand found one decision “ridiculous”. The most important questions.
Which scenes are we talking about?
Denmark’s Andersen scored in the 48th minute after a lot of confusion in the German defense – but the supposed lead goal did not count. With the help of the semi-automatic offside line, the referee team led by Briton Michael Oliver determined that Delaney’s toe was just a hair’s breadth offside. No goal. A few minutes later, Andersen became a tragic figure: a cross from David Raum grazed the 28-year-old’s hand from close range. After viewing the video images with impulse graphics of the ball contact, Oliver awarded a penalty. Kai Havertz converted safely. Instead of 0-1 from the German perspective, the score was 1-0 within a few minutes.
What do the coaches say?
“I’ve really had enough of this ridiculous hand rule,” said Denmark’s national coach Hjulmand. “We can’t expect our defenders to run with their hands behind their backs. He ran normally.” National coach Julian Nagelsmann said of the scene: “I can understand that the Danes are upset. But that’s the rule. The arm is spread out.”
Regarding the offside situation, Hjulmand repeatedly showed a picture of the scene on his mobile phone. “I was told that in terms of statistics, it makes no sense. We shouldn’t use the video referee like that. It’s a matter of one centimeter.”
And the experts?
Top German referee Felix Brych said on Sport1’s “Doppelpass” that Oliver had done “everything right” in the end, “even if it was bitter for Denmark.” The game, which also had to be interrupted due to a storm, placed “incredible” demands on the referee. Fellow referee Patrick Ittrich referred to the applicable handball rules on MagentaTV. “We have to try as best we can to evaluate the same situations in the same way,” argued Ittrich, but he also admitted: “I can understand from the player’s point of view that this is a problem.”
How does the new technology with a chip in the ball work?
The graphic, which is reminiscent of an electrocardiogram (ECG) for measuring heart currents, uses spikes to show when the ball is touched. In conjunction with the video images, referees can identify handballs more clearly. But the technology doesn’t just have fans. “We can do away with this spike thing that’s being shown,” said former international player Michael Ballack on MagentaTV. “We should still judge using common sense.”
How does UEFA generally assess the use of VAR?
After the group phase, UEFA referee chief Roberto Rosetti was extremely satisfied. In the 36 preliminary round matches, there were 20 interventions by the video assistant, and in 12 cases the main referee looked at the scene again. The technology with the chip in the ball works “very well”. If the video images do not allow a definitive conclusion, “we can rely on a graphic that shows the contact of the ball,” said the Italian.
dpa
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