Don't Be Because Of VAR And Referees, People Can't Think Logically

The Indonesian national team players looked down after losing 0-2 to Uzbekistan in the U23 Asian Cup semifinals at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Monday (30/4/2024). (Doc. AFC)

JAKARTA At least two decisions by Shen Yinhao were considered controversial and were the culprit for the defeat of the Indonesian national team in the U23 Asian Cup semifinals. Former FIFA referee Jimmy Napitupulu emphasized that there was nothing wrong with the referee's decision, but on the other hand VAR's existence was also again debated because it was considered eliminating the humanism side in the match.

Indonesia's journey in the U23 Asian Cup stopped after losing 0-2 to Uzbekistan in the semifinals which were held at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar, Monday (29/4/2024) night WIB.

Despite holding back the onslaught of Uzbekistan in the first half, the Garuda Muda goal guarded by Ernando Ari was successfully scored by Husain Norchaev in the 68th minute. Uzbekistan's opener was created when Indonesian players still had to digest referee Shen Yinhao's decision to annul Muhammad Ferrari's goal a few minutes earlier.

Indonesia played with 10 people following captain Rizky Ridho's red card and soon Pratama Arhan found the net himself so that Uzbekistan brought the winning score to 2-0.

After the match, the referee who led the match between Shen Yinhao and VAR referee Sivakom Pu-udom became the target of the anger of the Indonesian people who did not accept the defeat of Rizky Ridho and colleagues.

There were at least two decisions by referee Shen Yinhao that were in the public spotlight, first when Muhammad Ferrari's goal was disallowed, and finally after he issued a red card for Rizky Ridho.

At the moment of Ferrari's disallowed goal in the 61st minute, after seeing VAR shows, the referee considered Ramadhan Sananta to be in an offside position.

Jimmy Napitupulu even likened this incident to when South Korea's goal against the national team in the quarter-finals was canceled.

"The Ferrari goal is the same as South Korea's goal which was canceled against Indonesia, where South Korean players who are in an offside position, moved to do a Challenge For The Ball with Indonesian defenders, this is included in the offside interference category with an opinion," explained Jimmy Napitupulu.

Indonesian U-23 national team player Wita Sulaeman tried to penetrate the opponent's defense in the match against Uzbekistan in the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Qatar, Monday (29/4/2024). (Between/HO-PSSI/am)

On the same occasion, Jimmy Napitupulu also mentioned the referee's decision to punish Rizky Ridho with a red card. He considered the field judge to have made the right decision.

"Seeing the points of contact when his foot was extraordinary and contact was made with a stud when the opponent was in front of him," he explained.

According to Jimmy, Rizky should have been able to pull or bend his legs after kicking the ball, not even hitting the opponent's sensitive area.

The development of technology, both audio and video, has played a major role in supporting the performance of football referees in today's era. The goal is to minimize the possibility of controversial decisions.

One of the technological implementations used to assist referees in football is Video Assistant Referee or the presence of assistant referees with the help of video technology (VAR).

VAR's function in football is to enforce or enforce football match regulations as much as possible, as quoted from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) guidelines.

The existence of a review with VAR technology helps referees in a number of situations, such as the process of goals, possible penalties, violations with potential red card penalties, and incorrect identification from referees to ensure appropriate yellow or red card penalties are received by players.

The use of VAR in football has been inaugurated by FIFA and used since the 2018 World Cup in Russia. At the beginning of its use, VAR was already in the spotlight.

One of the most inherent controversies was France's match against Croatia. At that time Les Bleus was awarded a penalty after Antoine Griezman's corner kick hit Croatian player Ivan Perisic's hand.

Referee Total Pitana, who led the match, reviewed the VAR footage and then pointed to the spot as a sign of a penalty reward for France. Griezmann, who came down as the penalty executor, managed to score a goal.

Didier Deschamps' team won 4-2 and was entitled to lift the 2018 World Cup trophy. However, the referee's decision in the 2018 World Cup final drew criticism. One of the sharp criticisms was made by Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic, who assessed that VAR had intervened in the results of the 2018 World Cup final match.

VARs often trigger controversy, even in matches like the World Cup. However, that does not mean that people blindly blame referees and VARs for the defeat of the national team, as revealed by Jimmy Napitupulu.

"Don't because we love too much so we can't think logically," he explained.

"VAR technology is indeed a new thing in football and we hope to understand this, so it takes time to socialize it," concluded Jimmy Napitupulu.