Jonas Eidevall was left bemused by the lack of VAR in the UEFA Women's Champions League group stage following Arsenal's 1-0 defeat by Lyon.
The Gunners qualified for the last eight of the competition despite losing to the holders at Emirates Stadium, although the game was overshadowed by Vivianne Miedema going off with a serious-looking injury. Lyon's match-winning moment came just before Miedema went off, when Arsenal's Frida Maanum turned the ball into her own net after a goalmouth scramble.
But it was shrouded in controversy, with forward Melvine Malard standing in front of goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger in an offside position when Vanessa Gilles headed the ball across the goalmouth. Malard didn't touch the ball but did look to be potentially interfering with play during the move before Maanum inadvertently diverted the ball into her own net.
The officials, however, saw nothing wrong and awarded the goal. It proved the difference between the two sides, with Arsenal unable to find a second half equaliser.
As with last season in the Women's Champions League, the VAR system is only used for the knockout stages - it is absent for all group matches. Whilst Eidevall refused to criticise the officials directly for Lyon's winner, he did question the consistency of VAR, saying it should used throughout the competition or not all.
"With refereeing decisions, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t," Eidevall said after the defeat. "Obviously, I think this (incident) was a strange one.
"In the Women’s Champions League, firstly goalline technology is available but only if you pay for it yourself. We pay for it because we think it’s in the fairness of the game. We think it should be decided if there is a goal or not, but not all clubs have it because not all clubs can afford it. That is weird.
"I think also it’s weird if you are saying VAR is important in the quarter-finals and onwards. So then are we saying the group stage is not important? Are those decisions not important?
"For me, you either have to go either no VAR or you have VAR all the way in the tournament, same as goalline technology. That is in the fairness of the competition. Decisions can go either way. Of course, I hope it goes Arsenal’s way, but I think it’s more from a structural point of view."
Thankfully for Arsenal, the decision was not ultimately costly as they qualified for the last eight despite the defeat, where they can look forward to not only the latter stages but also the introduction of VAR. However, if they want to confirm themselves as going through as Group C winners, they will need to win away to Zurich next week in their final game of 2022.
NEW! Our Year: European Champions 2022 - The Official England Winners Book
With a foreword by England manager Sarina Wiegman, this is the only official book of the historic triumph, reliving every kick of a thrilling tournament and telling the stories of the players who made it all happen.
Order from https://reachsportshop.com/book/our-year-european-champion-2022/
