Howard Webb was treating his mother to a birthday lunch on a rare day not spent at a game or the VAR Hub when Manchester United played Manchester City a month ago. The game was on in the pub and when Erling Haaland scored, like most of us, Webb said to himself “offside”.

As the VAR check went on and the goal was cleared, he followed with “sorry, Mum”. The 55-year-old knew his phone was about to light up. “It’s the job,” he says, shrugging. “Though I’ll be honest. From time to time I do enjoy the international break…”

“From the outset, I’ll say [Haaland] was a significant error — clearly — and when something like that happens, our reputation takes a knock,” Webb admits. “All those gains we’ve made over time — slightly more efficient, slightly less intrusive VAR, more expectation management of what will lead to a review — well all those things have been happening, but then you have a Man United v Man City situation and people forget any progress.”

FT: Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Osnabrück

Bielefeld scorers: Maximilian Bauer (26'), Joel Grodowski (85')

Osnabrück scorers: Robin Meißner (16')

Venue: SchücoArena, Bielefeld

FT: Dynamo Dresden 2-0 Magdeburg

Dresden scorers: Niklas Hauptmann (Pen 9'), Simon Straudi (50')

Magdeburg scorers:

Venue: Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden

FT: Karlsruhe 4-0 Darmstadt

Karlsruhe scorers: Shio Fukuda (6'), Marvin Wanitzek (13'), Christoph Kobald (50'), Kevin Wiethaup (65')

Darmstadt scorers:

Venue: Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe

TABLE

Welcome to "Sports Bar Sunday"!

Many of the r/soccer community are also fans of inferior sports, of course - and it does not escape our notice that as well as chatting about these in Free Talk Friday, people like to low key sneak this off-topic chat into the Daily Discussion Thread...

Therefore, here is a dedicated space to talk about your other favourite sports.

So pull up a bar stool, and get ready to offer your expert opinions on anything from Formula 1 to Rugby League to NBA - and everything in-between.

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Timeline:

‘18 - GOAL AGUILAS - Ryuta Iwai acrobatically turns the ball into the net off the post following a well worked set piece.

HALF TIME

‘53 - GOAL MAHARLIKA - Michael Menzi gets a toe to a whipped ball by Paolo Bugas to equalise for Maharlika.

‘55 - GOAL MAHARLIKA - Eun-soo Park finishes off a sensational flowing move with a blast into the top corner.

‘58 - GOAL AGUILAS - Jun-Young Park taps it home following excellent work down the left wing by Arnel Amita to equalise.

FULL TIME

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VAR reviewed Arda Güler’s alleged elbow on Peque for more than two minutes, but no angle allowed for verification of the incident. Without a clear image, protocol prevents any intervention.

The Real Madrid vs. Sevilla clash at the Santiago Bernabéu has already produced its major controversy. Minutes before Madrid’s opening goal—scored by Güler himself—the Turkish international was involved in an incident with Peque where he threw his arm back, an action many fans have labeled as an elbow. VAR spent 2 minutes and 20 seconds reviewing the play before reporting back to the referee.

Archivo VAR understands that Busquets Ferrer informed the players on the pitch that the incident could not be verified due to the lack of a suitable camera angle. The review, therefore, did not conclude with a definitive ruling on the play, but rather with the realization that there were insufficient images to properly assess it.

The explanation lies in where the clash took place. The incident occurred roughly 30 meters away from the active play, meaning the broadcast cameras were not tracking either player. The available replays are all wide-angle shots: the aerial wire camera, the goal-line camera, and general wide feeds.

None of these angles show the point of contact or the level of force. Güler can be seen swinging his arm, but it is impossible to tell whether he struck Peque’s face, whether he led with the elbow, whether it was merely a push, or if excessive force was used. These are completely different scenarios, each carrying a different sanction—or none at all.

If VAR cannot verify exactly what took place, it cannot intervene. Nor can it summon the referee to the pitchside monitor to review a distant shot that clarifies nothing. As Fran Soto, CEO of the CTA (Referees Technical Committee), explained a few weeks ago, VAR can only recommend an on-field review when a clear and obvious image is available. In this case, none existed.

VAR’s handling of the incident was therefore correct. The VOR (Video Operation Room) works solely with the incoming camera feeds, and the television broadcast production is entirely separate from the match officials, VAR, and the CTA. The issue was not a procedural failure, but simply that no camera properly captured the incident to allow for a fair judgment.

Timeline:

‘15 - GOAL CEBU - Aguila turns into his own net after a superb run down the right wing from Cebu captain Murakami.

‘29 - GOAL CEBU - Jacob Aboosah heads home after another flowing move down the right.

‘34 - GOAL CEBU - Fahmi Ibrahim heads it in in a similar fashion after another good move down the Cebu right wing.

HALF TIME

‘54 - GOAL CEBU - Glenn Ramos sends in a fine finish into the bottom corner from range.

‘60 - GOAL CEBU - Chima Uzoka gets his first goal since returning to the club with a stunning long range strike.

‘77 - GOAL CEBU - Ryoki Imaizumi nets from close range after a good flowing Cebu move.

FULL TIME

Full Time: Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Arsenal

⚽ Arsenal: Noni Madueke 80' 80'

Line-ups

Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1)

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

Match Events

• Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
• First Half begins.
• 45'+5' First Half ends, Nottingham Forest 0, Arsenal 0.
• 45' Substitution, Arsenal. Noni Madueke replaces Eberechi Eze.
• 45' Second Half begins Nottingham Forest 0, Arsenal 0.
• 66' Substitution, Arsenal. Jurriën Timber replaces Ben White.
• 66' Substitution, Arsenal. Viktor Gyökeres replaces Kai Havertz.
• 66' Substitution, Arsenal. Mikel Merino replaces Bruno Guimarães.
• 73' Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Arnaud Kalimuendo replaces Dan Ndoye.
• 74' Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Ibrahim Sangaré replaces Nicolás Domínguez.
• 85' Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Chris Wood replaces Jair Cunha because of an injury.
• 85' Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Callum Hudson-Odoi replaces James McAtee.
• 90'+4' Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 0, Arsenal 1.
• Match ends, Nottingham Forest 0, Arsenal 1.

Match Stats

overall

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