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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Reason VAR did not intervene over horror Jefte Rangers red card decision

The red card shown to Jefte in Rangers' loss to Dynamo Kyiv could not be overruled by VAR.

The Brazilian, 20, was ordered off in the second half for a second caution.

Jefte was ruled to have elbowed his opponent in the face in an aerial duel at Hampden - however, replays showed there was nothing in the challenge with the player having won the ball fairly.

Despite this fact, Jefte was dismissed by referee Marco Guida for a second yellow in a decision branded 'the worst in 30 years' by Rangers manager Philippe Clement.

VAR was in use for the Champions League third round qualifying contest - which finished 2-0 to the visitors - but could not get involved in the matter despite replays showing Jefte's innocence. 

The reason for that is simply that a second yellow card is not a decision which can be overturned by VAR.


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VAR can only be involved in four "match-changing scenarios", namely goals and offences in build-up to goals, penalty decisions, direct red card decisions and mistaken identity.

Therefore, there was nothing the VAR officials could do after Guida's decision to send off Jefte for a second yellow at Hampden.

Guidance on the use of VAR in the Champions League reads: "The Video Assistant Referee will only intervene when they have the evidence for a clear and obvious mistake in four match-changing situations: goals and offences leading up to a goal, penalty decisions and offences leading up to a penalty, direct red card incidents, and mistaken identity.

"This includes goals scored after a foul during the attacking phase, or from an offside position."

James Tavernier revealed the referee had explained Jefte was sent off for an elbow. He said: “I spoke to him [the referee] as it happened. He explained that it was an elbow in the face.

"Looking back at it during game time, he gets up really early. I thought it wasn't even a free kick. I thought he got up early. There's no malice to what he’s done.

“It's a 50-50 ball that's going up in the air. Jefte gets up really early. He beats him in the air. I don't know how much contact there is. Obviously that makes a big difference."

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