The German national soccer team is eliminated again in the first round of the World Cup. Because Germany fails on itself and because Japan scores a controversial goal. Experts want clarification from FIFA.
The German national soccer team failed at the World Cup in Qatar. On a defensive that could never give the shaky construct absolute security and the lack of efficiency. Because you scored far too few goals in three games from most chances of all teams. But the DFB team also experienced the second World Cup debacle in a row because Japan surprisingly beat Spain. And the winning goal, which meant the end for the German team and the round of 16 for the Japanese, is discussed. Even if not in the circle of the DFB, which is busy with itself.
What happened? In the 54th minute, Japan’s Kaoru Mitoma caught a ball from behind or just a few millimeters from the goal line and maneuvered it into the middle, where Ao Tanaka took the lead. After that it becomes confusing: “The referee reacted to the assistant. I think I recognized, even based on current information, that the assistant waved the ball out. That means the field decision is over,” said the Bundesliga -Referee Patrick Ittrich after the game on MagentaTV. Referee Victor Gomes initially didn’t want to award a goal, and neither did the assistant.
But then the video assistant called. “Accordingly, the next thing we need is visual proof that the ball is not out of bounds,” Ittrich said. The opening goal was initially not given, the situation was checked for minutes. What was clear at all times: It was about a big decision and a damn close decision. “That’s why the check took so long. The referee looked at the assistant, they had brief communication contact. The assistant was probably not sure either. Then the flag came up, then it was checked – and then the goal was only given later.” , said Ittrich.
But was video assistant Fernando Guerrero allowed to intervene at all? After all, there was no clear wrong decision. The situation could not be resolved with the TV pictures. “The field decision was ‘Ball out of goal, therefore no goal’. This means that if the VAR does not have clear evidence that the ball was still in play, he may not recommend a change of decision,” write the referee experts from “Collinas Erben ” in a thread on Twitter.
The question of whether the VAR was allowed to intervene at all caused “Capitano” Michael Ballack to be very outraged: “Wrong” was the VAR’s decision, which was not allowed to intervene at all. “You’re correcting a decision that isn’t clearly verifiable. And they’re not really allowed to do that,” said the former DFB captain on MagentaTV. However, in the protocol of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the custodian of the international rules of football, the complex “ball out of play in front of a goal” is specifically cited as an example of when the VAR is allowed to intervene around a goal.
Ittrich specifies when the VAR can ask the referee to change his original decision: “We need visual evidence. You have it because of the goal line camera. There are various other cameras in the stadiums to check that. Apparently they found this pictorial evidence that the ball wasn’t out of bounds.”
“Collina’s heirs” hope for transparency from FIFA: “What we don’t know: Does the VAR have pictures that we don’t know? Did he use the chip in the ball, which constantly transmits the exact position of the ball – actually to determine the time of play at Away, but maybe also helpful here?” they write. “It would be nice if that were clarified. To have conceded the original decision as a clear mistake solely on the basis of the pictures published so far would be a rather daring move.”
Former Bundesliga referee Manuel Graefe commented indignantly on the process on Twitter: “You leave it entirely to the VAR. What a development,” he wrote about the team around Gomes, who did not look at the situation again himself before he finally decided for the German one The team still gave the fatal hit. According to Magenta expert Patrick Ittrich, only “FIFA – with all the possible camera perspectives it has” could bring clarity to the matter. Gräfe also demanded: “FIFA, please prove!” But there are no new pictures yet.
