Stan Collymore believes World Cup chiefs ought to at least have considered ditching VAR for the knockout phase of the tournament after another shambolic week for in-game technology.
Lionel Messi was awarded a penalty by Dutch referee Danny Makkelie and his VAR team after the slightest of contacts from Wojciech Szczesny when Argentina faced Poland on Wednesday, with the decision widely condemned by ex-professionals and supporters alike.
And things were just as bad 24 hours later when Japan beat Spain 2-1 to send Germany crashing out of the tournament with VAR ruling the ball was still in play when all but about a millimetre of it had crossed the line in the build-up to Ritsu Doan’s 48th-minute equaliser.
