Two UEFA referees 'suspended' after latest VAR controversy in Nations League clash
The incident occurred during the international break.
Featured Image Credit: ViaPlay/Getty
Topics: VAR, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Newcastle United
Luke Davies
Topics: VAR, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Newcastle United
Two UEFA officials have been ‘suspended’ after a goal was wrongly ruled out during a Nations League fixture.
Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak thought he had scored for Sweden against Azerbaijan on Tuesday evening, only to see the strike ruled out.
Isak’s goal was chalked off for offside following a VAR review, but the wrong lines were drawn.
Lines were drawn from Isak when it was Viktor Gyokeres who passed the ball from inside his own half before finding his onside teammate, who received the ball on the left wing.
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The incident occurred with the score 3-0, but the game eventually finished 6-0 to Sweden, with Sporting forward Gyokeres bagging four goals in the win, which handed his nation League C Group 1 top spot.
"Seriously, It's almost the worst I've seen,” Isak raged to reporters after the result [via the Mirror].
“I'm happy, of course, that we win, but when I score a goal that should be allowed, then it's clear that you get annoyed.
"I don't think I've ever experienced anything like this at this level when I've been involved.
“You've seen a lot of mistakes, but this one was pretty rough. The VAR referees stood in the player tunnel at halftime.
"We argued with them, but they stuck to their decision that they had made the right call."
Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson admitted that he and his team were “furious” at the decision.
Daniel Stefanski and Pawel Malec were the video referees for the match and have been ‘suspended’ by the Polish federation, according to SVT. Both could face further consequences from UEFA.
Also, according to TVP, the country’s refereeing body, the PZPN Referees' Board, decided to “remove both referees from conducting matches at the central level, both as main referees and video referees.
“The PZPN decided that, in this case, transferring the referee to work in the first league.”
It is unclear how long the pair will be removed from their work for but they will not take part in any further international games this year.
The report also suggests that UEFA’s refereeing authorities were “outraged” by the incident.
UEFA were contacted by Sport Bladet after the incident and admitted: "The offside decision was a mistake by the video assistant referee.”