In today's match from the 9th round of the First MFL, between the teams of FC AP Brera and FC Bashkimi, in the 85th minute the main referee awarded a penalty kick to the home team for trampling an opposing player.
Apparently from the attached video material, the visiting defender with number 2, in an attempt to head the ball, while falling, unknowingly steps on the home player with number 77. That is the moment of contact that the head referee notices and sanctions.
However, appreciating the insufficient intensity of the offence and the fact that the trampling occurs in the normal position of the defender's body when falling, the VAR judges correctly intervene and call the main referee to review the footage on the field. The aim is to show him the moment from which the minimum intensity and the absence of real impact of the contact can be determined, with the possibility of changing the initial decision.
According to the VAR protocol, the referee is the one who makes the final decision. In this case, he does not accept the advice of the VAR and decides to uphold the initial decision, a penalty, while making a wrong assessment of the intensity and impact of the trampling.
Due to this erroneous assessment, the chief referee will be negatively evaluated by the referee controller.
In several matches from the past rounds, we have witnessed many correct VAR interventions, and one wrong refereeing decision cannot and must not be an occasion or reason for reducing the value of the principles and protocols for the operation of VAR. Especially considering the fact that the technology is governed by the human factor and subjective refereeing conviction, which means that there have been, are and will be situations that may be misjudged.
The Football Federation of Macedonia and the Referees' Organization will continue with continuous, professional work and education of the referees, in whom they invest and trust, in order to preserve the integrity of the competition, but also the integrity of the referees themselves.
