Wenger weighs in on VAR controversy over Man City equaliser vs Real Madrid

09 May 2023 , 22:11

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Wenger weighs in on VAR controversy over Man City equaliser vs Real Madrid

Arsene Wenger has weighed in on Manchester City's controversial equaliser in their Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid.

After Vinicius Jr gave Real the lead in the first-half with a stunning strike, City hit back in the second-half with a Kevin De Bruyne thunderbolt leaving the tie finely poised ahead of next week's second leg at the Etihad.

However, Real were furious that the goal was allowed to stand, believing that the ball went out of play shortly before De Bruyne scored. Real boss Carlo Ancelotti was shown a yellow card for his protestations, while Luka Modric was also spoken to by the referee.

FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Broadcaster beIN Sports later checked the incident using 3D technology, producing an image that suggested the ball had in fact gone out of play. Wenger, who is now FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development then explained: "The VAR normally should check if a goal is regular or not.

"In a situation like that, they have to intervene and they did not go far enough back to check if the ball was out or not or they [were unable] to check if the ball was out or not. I think we go for the second solution because normally VAR cannot check on the sideline, only on the goal line.

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"VAR has been created to make more right decisions [based] on facts - is the ball in or out? VAR has to intervene and make the right decision, this is absolutely 100 percent.

"At the moment, I believe we cannot check on the sideline if the ball is in or out on the VAR. But we have a chip in the ball now and with a chip in the ball you can check."

In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti fumed: "The ball was off the pitch. That's it. Technology said it. I don't understand why VAR didn't check. The referee didn't pay attention to many things."

However, the image beIN Sports created was not instant and VAR does not yet have the technology to instantly check if the whole ball is out of play or not. There were also no television cameras that could provide a conclusive angle for VAR to check.

Matthew Cooper