VAR, or the Video Assistant Referee, disallowed what appeared to be an early goal scored by Ecuador’s Enner Valencia against host nation Qatar on the opening day of the 2022 World Cup on Sunday.
According to a graphic posted online by Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports, Ecuador striker Michael Estrada was offside throughout the goal’s buildup.
Unsurprisingly, the verdict immediately sparked outrage on Twitter.
“Yes, that is not an infraction. Five minutes into the World Cup? Are you serious?” “I mean, the global photographs don’t even show the offside,” one user said, while another tweeted. VAR.”
According to FIFA’s Laws of the Game, a player is in an offside position if any part of his body is closer to the opponent’s goal line than the second-to-last defender and the ball, and he is in the opponent’s half of the field.
16 minutes into the encounter, Valencia converted a penalty kick for Ecuador, bringing the team back into the match. A little time later, the 33-year-old athlete scored again to give Ecuador a 2-0 lead.
The match would be won by Ecuador, who will meet the Netherlands on Friday.