UEFA President Aleksandr Ceferin has revealed that the outcome of the controversial Champions League quarterfinal second leg tie between Juventus and Real Madrid won’t have changed much despite the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.
English referee Michael Oliver gave Real Madrid an added time penalty after Juventus defender Mehdi Benatia brought down Lucas Vazquez.
Ceferin talked about VAR in a chat with Italian media outfit La Gazello De Sport
In his words, he said: “I have some fear for the World Cup, where we will have referees who have never led with the VAR, I hope there are no scandals or problems, it is easier to put it in a championship with all the Italian or German referees, even the Premier League has postponed it. ”
Speaking further about video arbitration, Ceferin stated that: “They are not changes for a tournament in progress, the rules should be the same from start to finish, otherwise someone could say ‘if there was VAR two months ago …’ But then, excuse me, at Real Madrid- Juventus, what would have changed? Nothing, there are those who saw that action twenty times, I fifty, but for half it’s still a penalty and for the other half it’s not. ”
On when VAR will be introduced by UEFA, he said: Realistically, in the 2019/2020 season we could have it in the Champions League and in the European Championship.”
