There have now been more penalties awarded in the 2018 World Cup in Russia than in any previous edition. Cristiano Ronaldo's saved effort following a video assistant referee review against Iran was the record 19th spot kick awarded in the tournament, which has yet to reach the knockout stage. A VAR review later gave Iran a penalty in stoppage time. Thus far, 15 of the 20 total penalties have been successfully converted. In Brazil four years ago, there were only 13 penalties in the entire tournament. The previous World Cup record of 18 was first set in 1990, then matched in 1998 and 2002. The role of VAR goes a long way to explaining this trend, with seven penalties so far being awarded following a video review, and VAR has also confirmed referees' decisions on the field on several occasions. That said, this World Cup would be on course to beat the tally of 18 even without VAR. Julian Finney/Getty Images A penalty was also disallowed in Brazil's win over Costa Rica on Friday after VAR deemed there was no foul on Neymar, while in Saudi Arabia's game against Egypt, for the first time, the referee rejected an official review of a spot kick he had given. If the current rate continues, the World Cup is on course for a total of more than 30 spot kicks being awarded by the tournament's end.<doc-sep>MOSCOW — There was a time when soccer looked hopelessly out of touch for refusing to implement video replay to assist with its most crucial decisions. Disgraced former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter was a longtime holdout, and given that Blatter didn’t do much that wasn’t inept or crooked, you’d think that would be a ringing endorsement for technological help. But now it is here – in the form of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system – and it is not welcome. VAR is terrible, and it is making the World Cup worse for its presence. It is slow, clunky and unpredictable, which are all the criticisms that were highlighted before it became part of soccer’s biggest tournament for the first time. Yet all of those factors could be overlooked if it wasn’t for the real whammy. VAR is wrong. A lot. Like, half the time. USA TODAY Sports has counted 12 incidents of borderline decisions where VAR usage was relevant. Six of those cases were widely considered to be correct, with six being highly disputed and incorrect in the eyes of most observers. Which, given that a referee has at least a 50 percent chance of getting a call right himself, even if his eyes were shut, or he was facing the other way, or even if he had nipped out back for a crafty cigarette, makes it all a colossal waste of time. More:World Cup group qualifying scenarios for every team as knockout stage nears More:Switzerland goal scorers could be suspended for 'controversial gestures' Replay, like pro and college football and basketball have shown, is at its absolute best when it is dealing with details of positional fact relating to time or space. Did a buzzer-beater leave the shooter’s hand before the clock hit zeroes? Did a running back break the plane with his outstretched arms? Soccer’s version of this is whether the entirety of the ball crossed the goal-line. The mechanism for that was already in place, and most certainly should stay. As for the rest of it, we are better off taking our chances with the much-maligned – often unfairly and sometimes not – referees. VAR comes into play in one of four distinct instances, which in theory are developments serious enough that they could have a sizeable impact on the game’s outcome. They are goals (naturally), red cards, penalty kicks and cases of mistaken identity. The video assistant, placed far away from the action in front of a bank of monitors, can message the referee to stop play if one of those situations occurs. Conversely, if a referee is not convinced in his own decision or was unsighted, he can refer the matter to VAR for adjudication. The first time VAR was used at this World Cup, it fared rather well. Portugal defender Pepe went to ground in a challenge with Spain’s Diego Costa, and Costa went on to score. The replay showed Pepe’s dive to be both unwarranted and theatrical, and the goal correctly stood. A day later, though, VAR messed up for the first time, wrongly penalizing Australia’s Josh Risdon and awarding a penalty kick to France’s Antoine Griezmann. Other failures include England’s Harry Kane being manhandled in the penalty area against Tunisia; Cristiano Ronaldo being denied a penalty against Morocco and Denmark’s Yussuf Poulsen being caught for a handball that could not possibly have been deliberate. Ante Rebic got away with an awful stomp on Eduardo Salvio’s shin against Argentina, then later went on to score Croatia’s critical first goal, while Aleksandar Mitrovic was denied a PK for Serbia against Switzerland, while being clearly wrestled to the ground by two defenders. “What are those guys doing up there?” Serbian soccer federation vice president Savo Milosevic asked reporters, and he makes a good point. The problem is that soccer decisions that need replays are far more likely to be open to interpretation. A replay can show that there was contact between two players in the penalty area, but at freeze-frame speed it might not be obvious if the touch is like being tickled with a feather or being contacted by a truck. Most soccer players give a reaction appropriate to the latter case, no matter which it is. It is all a bit disappointing. After waiting this long to find definitive answers to controversial decisions, we now realize that such a wish is elusive. VAR is here and it would be better if it wasn’t. If it time for FIFA to rewind the clock on itself.<doc-sep>
EX-PREMIER LEAGUE referee MARK HALSEY assesses VAR overturning the penalty decision which Neymar had won for Brazil. And after lambasting the award of a spot-kick to Australia for handball against Denmark, SunSport's Whistleblower has a very different opinion this time. 4 Neymar at first won a penalty after a dramatic reaction to Gonzalez' slight contact Credit: Reuters Neymar and Philippe Coutinho went on to grab stoppage-time goals as Brazil spluttered to a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica. That leads the World Cup favourites on top of Group E with four points, the same as Switzerland. Here's what our reffing expert thinks of the big moment involving the world's costliest player. THIS is how VAR should work. 4 Brazil striker Neymar even had his arms out protesting before he hit the floor Credit: EPA Neymar breaks down in tears as Brazil win their World Cup match against Costa Rica I didn’t think it was a penalty in the first place and it looked to me that referee Bjorn Kuipers had a momentarily lapse in concentration to award the spot-kick. It was an excellent recommendation by the VAR. But let’s say well done to Kuipers and praise him for having the strength and courage to overturn his original decision. 4 Giancarlo Gonzalez tells Neymar what he thinks after a spot-kick was awarded Credit: Getty Images - Getty MOST READ IN WORLD CUP 2018 NO HARD FEELINGS Man dumped by Gareth Southgate's wife insists he holds no grudge 'i want a girl' England star Kyle Walker's model girlfriend reveals she wants FOURTH baby At 0-0, it was an important call to make. That was unlike the fiasco from Spanish official Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz in Denmark versus Australia — when VAR correctly gave a penalty to the Socceroos. However, I thought Neymar should have been booked for simulation.