Technology helps World Cup 2018 break penalty record

According to ChannelNewsAsia, one of the central themes from the early stages of the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been the increased number of penalties awarded, which many believe stems from the intervention of VAR technology.

According to statistics, after the match between Poland and Colombia took place this morning, June 25, Vietnam time, also marking half of the World Cup has passed with 32/64 matches, a total of 16 penalties were taken, of which 13 were converted into goals.

By comparison, in Brazil four years ago, there were just 13 penalties in the entire tournament. The World Cup record is 18, at the event held in 2002.

VAR’s role is strongly reflected in the figures, as six of the penalties were awarded after the referee reviewed video from the support team. Of course, the technology has also ruled out many controversial situations in the penalty area, such as in the match between Brazil and Costa Rica on June 22 when it determined that striker Neymar had faked a dive instead of being fouled.

FIFA's director of refereeing, Massimo Busacca, said before the tournament that VAR would not be perfect and therefore, as it has proven, caused inconsistency in decision-making, leaving some teams and fans frustrated.

Both Brazil and England, for example, felt that VAR should have been used to review penalty decisions in their opening matches, while Australia coach Bert van Marwijk angrily blamed the VAR system for his side's loss to France.

"I hope that maybe in a while there will be a really honest referee," the Dutch coach told reporters after that match. "The body language said he didn't know, from my position. And then he has to make a decision - France or Australia."

However, FIFA still believes VAR has been a success.

"Overall, it should be noted that FIFA is extremely satisfied with the level of refereeing to date, as well as the successful implementation of the VAR system, which has generally been positively accepted and appreciated within our football community," said FIFA's director of media relations, Giovanni Marti.

One of the things that causes a lot of confusion for people these days is the situations in which VAR is used on the pitch. The rules only allow the system to intervene in situations that result in goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity. It cannot be used for free kicks, which has frustrated some players.

Denmark have conceded penalties in both of their first two Group C games. Against Australia, Yussuf Poulsen was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area, after VAR had alerted the referee.

However, Denmark also believed there was another foul on Poulsen later in the second half that could have been considered a penalty, but the referee refused and did not seek assistance from VAR.

"After today I don't like the system," said Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen. "Two games in a row against us. We should have had free kicks earlier. If we want to use it for penalties, we should also use it for set pieces."

The debate over VAR will continue, as will the increase in penalties this World Cup. If the current penalty ratio of 0.5 is maintained, there will be a total of 32 penalties by the end of the tournament.