World Cup VAR: Ex-Referee Audits Six Disputed Calls
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- Andy Davies, a former Select Group referee with 12 Premier League seasons, reviewed six VAR incidents from the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, finding that officials both missed clear calls and intervened unnecessarily across the tournament.
- Canada's Richie Laryea was denied a penalty against South Africa after Khuliso Mudau fouled him from behind in the box at 45+1 minutes on June 28 — Davies said it was a clumsy challenge and no on-field review was triggered.
- Davinson Sanchez's late header for Colombia against Portugal was ruled out for a marginal offside, with FIFA's technology applying no tolerance zone — unlike the Premier League's 5cm margin — producing another "toenail" disallowance.
- Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh had a 90+3-minute winner against Egypt correctly ruled offside because Iran's goalkeeper had advanced too far upfield, leaving only one outfield defender between the attacker and goal.
- Germany's opening goal against Ecuador stood despite Aleksandar Pavlovic appearing to catch Pedro Vite's head with a high boot in the buildup; Davies called it dangerous play that VAR wrongly cleared.
- Jordan Pickford avoided a DOGSO red card against Ghana after colliding with Prince Adu, with Davies noting any final touch on the ball before the collision would have correctly resulted in a sending-off.
- Congo DR's Nathanaël Mbuku had a goal against Uzbekistan disallowed for a handball in the buildup; Davies deemed the VAR intervention "poor" because, while there was hand-to-face contact, it had no direct impact on the subsequent goal.
Why it matters: Davies's column exposes how FIFA's "high threshold for intervention" produces inconsistent outcomes — from a missed penalty for Canada to a dangerous-play goal for Germany — directly contrasting with the Premier League's more forgiving 5cm offside tolerance. For FIFA, these judgment calls accumulate into a credibility problem at the tournament's biggest stage, where every marginal decision is replayed frame-by-frame.
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