VAR was supposed to reduce human refereeing errors but it’s sparking more controversy

Many of world football’s brightest names took the field weekenlastd, as the quarter finals of the FIFA men’s World Cup played out. But for many fans, the heroics of the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were overshadowed by the actions of a surprising character: the referee.

Two contentious decisions marred England’s 2-1 win over Norway: one that disallowed a Norwegian goal due to an earlier foul, and another that allowed an English goal despite an apparent earlier collision between the ball and an overhead cable. Similarly, Argentina’s victory over Switzerland never looked in doubt once the ref issued a game-ending second yellow card to Swiss forward Breel Embolo.

Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the 'heartbeat of the ball' when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball. pic.twitter.com/gYf9ukfveT— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 11, 2026

At the heart of all three controversial calls were technologies designed to do away with controversial calls. FIFA pointed to the contact-detecting “snicko” device attached to the ball in allowing England’s goal, and the other two decisions hinged on the little-loved Video Assistant Referee or VAR, an off-field panel...

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