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SHAH ALAM – As the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) continues to shape some of football’s most dramatic moments, experts are calling for the sport to preserve the emotion, spontaneity and human judgement that have long defined the game.
They argue that technology should remain a tool to assist referees rather than become football’s ultimate decision-maker, with referees retaining the final authority on the field.
The debate has intensified following Portugal’s dramatic World Cup victory over Croatia, where VAR dominated global headlines after four goals were disallowed, including a Croatian equaliser in the 103rd minute.
The incident has reignited questions over whether technology is promoting fairness at the expense of football’s emotional appeal.
Former Football Coaches Association of Malaysia (FCAM) vice-president Datuk Richard Scully said football’s greatest attraction has always been its unpredictability and human element, stressing that referees, rather than technology, should always have the final say.
"We have got to understand the role of VAR, it is a video assistant referee.
"It only assists the referee. At the end of the day, the human official makes the final call," he said during Sinar Daily's Sports Matters: Football Fever podcast yesterday.
Scully explained that referees remain responsible for interpreting the Laws of the Game, assessing the severity of incidents and making decisions that technology alone cannot fully determine.
He emphasised that it is ultimately the referee who decides whether an incident warrants a penalty, a red card, a yellow card or should simply be regarded as a fair tackle, with technology serving only as an aid rather than a replacement for human judgement.
He added that the Laws of the Game encourage referees to allow play to continue before reviewing incidents, helping to preserve the flow of the match.
However, he acknowledged that certain applications of VAR, particularly marginal offside decisions determined by centimetres, risk diminishing the spectacle of the game.
"Football has colours because of its dramas and emotions. Without that, there is no excitement.
“Although modern football now incorporates advanced technologies, including chips embedded inside match balls to support goal-line technology and offside decisions, the referee's judgement must always remain central.
"Even with all these advancements, the referee remains responsible. He can even disagree with VAR if he feels the situation requires a different interpretation," he mentioned.
Former Perak FC general manager Neow Choo Seong shared similar concerns, cautioning against allowing technology and artificial intelligence to overshadow the essence of sport.
He emphasised that sport is fundamentally driven by emotion, with its appeal rooted in the joy, disappointment and passion experienced by players and fans alike.
He further warned that over-reliance on technology could gradually weaken the core values that make football unique.
"Sometimes, we need to take a few steps back and humanise football and sports again.
"If everything is left to technology and artificial intelligence (AI), we may lose the sportsmanship, emotions and human connection that make people fall in love with the game in the first place.
"At the end of the day, we are humans. We have feelings, emotions and sports should continue to reflect that," he said during Sinar Daily's Sports Matters: Football Fever podcast yesterday.
The debate resurfaced following Portugal's dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia in the World Cup last-32 in Toronto, where VAR played a decisive role throughout a match filled with controversy.
Portugal eventually progressed thanks to striker Gonçalo Ramos' late winner, but the encounter became the first World Cup match to feature four disallowed goals.
The biggest talking point came in the 103rd minute when Manchester City’s defender, Joško Gvardiol thought he had rescued Croatia with a dramatic equaliser, only for VAR to intervene after detecting a slight touch by Igor Matanović before the ball reached an offside Mario Pašalić.
The decision sparked outrage among Croatian supporters, who threw plastic bottles onto the pitch, temporarily delaying the restart.
According to FIFA, the decision was confirmed using Connected Ball Technology embedded inside the official Adidas Trionda match ball.
FIFA stated that data from the Connected Ball Technology embedded in the Adidas Trionda match ball, used in the FIFA World Cup, confirmed that Croatia’s Igor Matanovic made contact during the build-up to the goal against Portugal.
This information enabled the referee to accurately identify an offside infringement and subsequently disallow the goal.
"IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensors housed within the Trionda ball are capable of determining any slight contact, displayed to viewers in the broadcast as a 'heartbeat graphic' and allowing officials an unprecedented level of data to make fast, accurate decisions,” FIFA said in a statement.
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann also defended the ruling.
"He was offside when the ball was last played by a team-mate and the ball was deflected by the defender and not deliberately played, so the offside stands,” Cann mentioned.
Despite the technological evidence, Croatian players remained unconvinced.
Midfielder Petar Sučić questioned the explanation provided by officials after the match.
"The referee said that he did not see our side touch the ball. He said that he has a sensor in the ball and he decided that.
"It is really difficult to explain, but we expect somebody would explain to us because what I saw is that Matanovic did not touch the ball.
“So for me, it is a regular goal, but I do not know. I say we need to look better a few more times. And also, they told me my goal was in a difficult situation.
"I do not know, today is like that. Luck is on their side,” he said.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić also criticised the growing influence of VAR on the emotional experience of football.
"It kills the emotions. It kills everything within you. It kills what you are experiencing and then brings you back to the beginning.
“And it is not easy to deal with all of this. Football should be fair and the decisions should be such, but we have gone on too far about VAR,” he said.
VAR was first introduced by FIFA at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and has since become a permanent feature across major football competitions worldwide.
While the technology has significantly reduced clear officiating errors and improved decision-making accuracy, it continues to divide opinion among players, coaches, officials and supporters, particularly over lengthy reviews and extremely marginal offside decisions that many believe diminish football's emotional spontaneity.
