Former Premier League referee Mike Dean believes a technical glitch was responsible for VAR failing to intervene and overturn Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty decision against Ghana.
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The former Manchester United star was provided with the chance to break the deadlock during Thursday’s World Cup Group H game after he went down under a challenge from Mohammed Salisu.
Replays suggested he was already heading towards the turf before he initiated contact with the defender but referee Ismail Elfath pointed to the spot and was not instructed to view the pitchside monitor, much to the astonishment of Dean.
‘It’s scary, it is scary,’ Dean, now a dedicated VAR after his decision to retire from refereeing at the end of last campaign, told beIN Sport.
‘I’m just astounded and I like to back referees all the time and you can’t support stuff like that. You can’t defend the indefensible. He should have gone to the screen, he should have looked at that.
‘The only thing I can think that may well have happened for some reason, and it does happen sometimes in the UK, there’s angles in the VAR hub that they don’t get straight away.
‘The VAR doesn’t choose the angles the operator next to him does. If he can’t get that angle there might be some kind of technical glitch. I just cant’ understand why he wasn’t sent to the screen. It’s 100% wrong.’
Frustrated Ghana manager Otto Addo has blasted the decision that turned what had been an even contest in Portugal’s favour.
‘The referee gave a penalty which was not a penalty – everyone saw that. Why? Because it’s Ronaldo or something?’ Addo said to beIN Sport.
When asked in his post-match press conference if he believes the foul was given because it was Ronaldo, Addo said: ‘I think you have to ask the referee. I have no proof of that. We were playing the ball and then there was contact.
‘I don’t know whether they were not paying, or whether the VAR was not paying attention. ‘If you look at the replay, we played the ball, it was actually a foul against us.
‘If somebody scores a goal, congratulations. But this was really a gift.
‘Up to the penalty, everything was possible. Then the game got a little bit wild.’
