At 3 a.m. on December 2, Beijing time, the third round of Group E of the 2022 World Cup began, and Japan once again staged a thrilling counter-win, eventually defeating Spain with a score of 2:1.

Reporter of the Economic Affairs: Wen Qiao Reporter of the Economic Affairs: Tan Yuhan

At 3 a.m. on December 2, Beijing time, the third round of Group E of the 2022 World Cup began, and Japan once again staged a thrilling counter-win situation. finally defeated Spain with a score of 2:1. It is the fourth time in history that it has entered the World Cup's top 16, and it is also the first time to advance as the first place in the group.

However, the second ball kicked by Japanese player Tanaka Bee is full of controversy because of VAR (video assistant referee) technology .

December 1, Japanese team player Asano Takuma (right) shot in the game.

Photo source: Xinhua News Agency reporter Cao Can photograph

In the second half, Japan scored 2 goals in a row and secured the victory. In the 51st minute, Japanese player Door Anru passes diagonally from the right side of the penalty area, Sanzao passes back near the bottom line on the left side of the penalty area, and Tanaka Bi scores in front of the goal line. However, it is reported that multiple images show that the ball has already gone out of bounds before the pass near the bottom line on the left side of the penalty area.

After the Mexican referee communicated with VAR, he did not go to the sidelines to watch the video. The final goal was valid, which caused great controversy. According to Spanish "As", is the most controversial penalty for this World Cup so far. Among the four screenshots provided by FIFA , only one looks suspected to have not crossed the line. The other 3 photos show that the ball is obviously out of bounds. At present, the official has not yet publicly ruled on the image .

The well-known domestic sports commentator Huang Jianxiang said on Weibo, "VAR ruined football, just like special effects ruined movies. The champion of this World Cup has been born: VAR (including semi-automatic offside penalty system)."

However, some supporters also said that VAR can help referees make more accurate judgments and make football games more fair and pure. So, is the controversial VAR technology reasonable?

1.88 mm narrowly beat

According to Japanese media reports, the ball contact boundary is only 1.88 mm, and such a subtle gap is enough to rewrite the Japanese football history . Japan's successful advancement seems to be thankful to the high technology adopted in this World Cup. It is reported that there is a sensor inside the ball that can measure speed, direction and other data. Through the photographic lens installed around the court, the ball can be tracked, which will help the ball to make a correct judgment.

According to reports, Tanaka Bee said after the game: "From my perspective, half of the ball has exceeded the baseline, but I can't see more because of speed. I focus on goals, and the ball can always go out of bounds... but in the end it is still counted, so it's great."

VAR, which is Video Assistant Referee, means video assistant referee. VAR launched at the World Cup in Russia four years ago, and this year's Qatar World Cup continues to use the technology. FIFA President Infantino said that technology is the end of offside goals in 2018 . At the 2018 World Cup, the accuracy rate of VAR increased from 95% to more than 99% .

Bundesliga and Serie A have introduced VAR technology in the 2017/18 season. La Liga followed closely after the World Cup in Russia, with the Spanish top league using VAR technology since the 2018/19 season, while the Premier League did not start using VAR technology until the 2019/20 season.

Japan is not the first country to benefit from VAR technology in this Qatar World Cup. Taking a recent game as an example, on October 28, in the Cameroon against Serbia , Cameroon striker Vincent Abubakalkarqun passed the ball over the Serbian goalkeeper's head and into the net, he thought he was offside, and the linemen also thought so. But in the end, the VAR verdict believed that it was not offside, which also helped Cameroon to make a thrilling comeback in the game.

According to foreign media Big Indy News, Abu Bakar's goal will not be judged valid until VAR is introduced. If VAR was put into use in the Mexico World Cup in 1986, then Argentine star Diego Maradona played the controversial "hand of God" against England will no longer exist .

VAR's two-sidedness

statistics from foreign media show that VAR has indeed improved the accuracy of decision-making.

In an international football match, each referee makes about 137 observable decisions, most of which can be seen by the audience in near real time. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, FIFA found that of the 455 incidents ordered by VAR, the referee made the correct final decision in 99.4% of the cases; while in the absence of VAR, the proportion was 95.6%. After

was introduced into VAR, the referee was able to discover more violations. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the referee awarded 29 penalties, nine of which were the result of VAR penalty. In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the number of penalty kicks was 13 times. However, on the other hand, the use of VAR extends the game time, as the average time to review an event reaches 82 seconds.

VAR has been widely used in football leagues since the World Cup in Russia. But in the eyes of some traditionalists, high technology is indeed likely to improve accuracy, but it also comes at a cost. Traditionalists believe that VAR greatly wastes playing time, weakens the role of on-field referees, and adds new, different dimensions of controversy, thus endangering the value of the sport.

analysis believes that people should learn two lessons from the use of VAR. First of all, must not use technology just for technology. It should deploy under clear and limited circumstances. In these cases, technology can significantly improve the process and provide information for the decisions of the referees, rather than replace the referees; in addition, efficiency is also important. When trying to solve a set of problems, technology should not create new problems, so the technical system should be continuously improved based on feedback.

Foreign media ESPN commented that FIFA lacked communication on VAR technology in this event and did not provide any clear information, which fully highlighted the disconnect between the system and the fans watching the game. In the Premier League, the entire review of VAR is shared with broadcasters. This must be improved if fans are to truly accept VAR, and the decision-making process of VAR should be rigorously scrutinized.

The World Cup is rekindled, and 32 national teams gather in Qatar. Who can reach the top of world football?

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