VAR was implemented in soccer to ensure error-free decisions. However, the ongoing FIFA World Cup is proving them wrong, at least for a few analysts and former players. There have been a few controversial VAR decisions already taken in this World Cup. In the Norway-England game, broadcast angles from FOX Sports appeared to show the ball clip a suspended aerial camera cable, causing it to sharply alter its trajectory and drop straight down. The play continued as VAR showed no contact. According to former England goalie, Ben Foster, this all makes VAR a little more susceptible.
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“This is my problem with all of this rubbish,” football analyst Chris Berba quoted Foster on X. “They can basically pick and choose what decision they want to come to, right? Genuinely, the snick hasn’t gone off; it’s hit a wire. Basically, they have a rule that if it hits something like that, for example, the whole action has to restart; it goes back to the restart, and that’s as simple as that.”
Under FIFA Law 9, if the ball touches an “outside agent” (such as an animal, spectator, overhanging branch, or camera wire) while on the field of play, play must be stopped immediately. The game is restarted with a dropped ball where it touched the object, unless it happened inside the goal area. However, in the Norway-England game, VAR didn’t confirm any outside contact.
Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland launched a long goal kick high into the air, which looked like he had hit an overhead camera cable. The referee did not see any contact, and play continued. England recovered the dropped ball, transitioned quickly upfield, and Jude Bellingham scored the equalizer moments later.
FIFA later released an official statement clarifying that the microchip embedded in the ball did not show a heartbeat “spike” or peak in data while in the air. Therefore, there was no objective evidence of structural contact.
But Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said after the game: “The ball fell straight down from the sky. It did touch it.”
There are a few other VAR controversies that happened in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. For example, in the Argentina-Egypt game, Egypt’s Mostafa Ziko scored to potentially go up 2-0. VAR flagged an incremental Marwan Attia shirt pull and foot contact on Lisandro Martínez 20 seconds prior in the build-up. The goal was wiped out.
There are a few results being influenced by the VAR decisions. And if this continues, more will come forward against the technology.
