Sports fans are no strangers to the expression ‘we wuz robbed’, often said by the underdogs after being dominated by the champions. Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz is the latest to have uttered these words after his team’s 1-1 draw with Portugal saw Cristiano Ronaldo’s team advancing to the last 16, at the expense of Iran. Ironically, Queiroz is Portuguese.
Queiroz is convinced that the system favours the champion players, the showboats of the game, as they bring in the glamour and the big bucks. He lambasted FIFA and the referee saying he believed the official may have been under instructions to ensure Portugal and Ronaldo advance. The coach believes Ronaldo elbowing Morteza Pouraliganji merited his being sent off.
Spain, too, seemed to have a guardian angel in their fixture against Morocco, especially when defender Gerard Pique was seen lunging in on Khalid Boutaib. While Pique made very little contact with Boutaib, the Morocco striker was left in a heap on the floor. It was a sure red card for the pundits on Football Extraaa. But it thankfully eluded the eagle eye of the RAR team, and left the grappling Spain to grind out a win in their favour! In the must-win Argentina knockout against Nigeria, as Messi fans prayed fervently for the GOAT to deliver, and he did resoundingly with a sublime goal from start to finish, the penalty claim by Nigeria was not given. In this instance though, it was plain to see that the action by Marcus Rojo was not deliberate… as Argentina clawed back in to win the match 2-1.
“You stop the game for VAR (video assistant referees); there is an elbow. Elbow is a red card in the rules, doesn’t matter if it’s Messi or Ronaldo,” said Queiroz of the incident that floored Pouraliganji. He implied the referee would have been told to be lenient because Ronaldo is such a big name, “I don’t know if it was this but we have the right to know,” Queiroz said at the press conference.
“I don’t want to talk too much, it’s about my country and a player. I know there will be a war against me,” said Queiroz, who coached his native Portugal in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “No problem, I have become used to being one man against the nation, and one nation against the man since South Africa. I don’t have problems with that.”
Queiroz has a suggestion. For VAR to be universally accepted, the coaches and fans should be able to hear the communication between the referee and the video assistants. This happens in rugby and cricket too. “We don’t know if it was the referee or the guys upstairs (who decided). This game belongs to the people, not to a couple of guys behind the scenes. My suggestion is they have to put up their hand and say ‘Sorry, VAR is not working so we have to stop it,’ or the communication must be clear,” he says.
The Paraguayan referee, Enrique Cáceres, thrice referred to VAR reviews while awarding one penalty to each side, including a late penalty to Iran that fans thought was a dubious call. The controversial decision came after a long wait when the referee reviewed footage of Ronaldo’s elbow on Pouraliganji. But Queiroz is not convinced.
“There’s no room for human mistakes. Players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes and referees make mistakes. But now you have one system that costs a fortune, high technology and five or six people inside, but nobody takes responsibility,” he feels. But are the big players being protected? Some fans agree.
Kalyanaraman, a veteran sports enthusiast, says Ronaldo is capable of cheating and that he is glorified globally nevertheless. Another football fan, Leonard Gomes says, “In this case, Ronaldo lashed out in frustration with an elbow but it does not matter how hard. Either that was a red card or no card at all. A yellow card was a cop-out.”
The RAR controversies carry on as most penalties are being given. Free-flowing football is the essence of the game, which fans feel should be maintained; otherwise, there will nothing beautiful about the game. It would just be VAR games on the pitch!
