Belgium's coach Martinez declares war on VAR
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 12.06.22. | 10:58
He's not the first to complain, but when you're in charge of one of the strongest teams in the world, then it has more importance than usual
Roberto Martinez surely is not the first and definitely won't be the last gaffer to raise his voice against the recently promoted Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in modern football.
However, the fact he's coaching one of the finest national teams out there makes his opinion rather influential and more significant than almost any other.
And he lost his temper last night in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw against Wales in the UEFA Nations League. Belgium were one up thanks to Tielemans's goal before Johnson levelled the game three minutes from time. But then came long VAR check...
Good Wales match against Belgium tonight - shame about the VAR five minutes in pic.twitter.com/FnazAhMJqB
— Mark Reckless (@MarkReckless) June 11, 2022
On first viewing, it seemed like Johnson had been correctly flagged offside, but the VAR review showed him to be just level.
That decision was heavily criticised by Belgium boss Roberto Martinez...
VAR zag het goed in Wales - België https://t.co/qBCWozll45 #WALBEL #DEVILTIME @BelRedDevils
— voetbalbelgie (@voetbalbelgie) June 11, 2022
"It's gone a bit mad,' said Martinez. "We need an explanation from the VAR committee on how the system works. We've had two points taken away from us.
"I expect an explanation from high up, from FIFA, from UEFA, ahead of the World Cup. The lines used to determine whether a player is offside don't work. It's comical.
"I don't know whether we need a 3D system. We are in a multi-million-pound industry and this aspect is not serious.
"The linesman made a good decision and was overruled by a faulty system, "concluded he.
UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE
LEAGUE A, ROUND 1
Tuesday
Germany - England 1-1 (0-0)
/Hofmann 50 - Kane 88 pen/
Italy - Hungary 2-1 (2-0)
/Barella 30, Pellegrini 45 - Mancini 61 og/
Wednesday
Belgium - Poland 6-1 (1-1)
/Witsel 42, De Bruyne 59, Trossard 73, 80, Dendoncker 83, Openda 90+3 - Lewandowski 28/
Wales - Netherlands 1-2 (0-0)
/Norrington-Davies 90+2 - Koopermeiners 50, Weghorst 90+4/
Thursday
Portugal - Czech R. 2-0 (2-0)
/Cancelo 33, Guedes 38/
Switzerland - Spain 0-1 (0-1)
/Sarabia 13/
Friday
Austria - France 1-1 (1-0)
/Weimann 36 - Mbappe 83/
Denmark - Croatia 0-1 (0-0)
/Pašalić 69/
Saturday
Hungary - Germany 1-1 (1-1)
/Nagy 6 - Hofmann 9/
England - Italy 0-0
Wales - Belgium 1-1 (0-0)
/Johnson 86 - Tielemans 51/
Netherlands - Poland 2-2 (0-1)
/Klaassen 51, Dumfries 54 - Cash 18, Zielinski 49/
Sunday
21.45: (3.80) Switzerland (3.50) Portugal (2.10)
21.45: (1.40) Spain (4.90) Czech R. (9.00)
Monday
21.45: (2.00) Denmark (3.50) Austria (4.10)
21.45: (1.60) France (3.80) Croatia (7.25)
Tuesday
21.45: (1.32) England (5.40) Hungary (12.0)
21.45: (1.85) Germany (3.70) Italy (4.60)
***odds are subject to change
