Opinion – Sandro Macedo: VAR is so badly used in Brazil that even Renato Gaúcho is right

VAR to hell the VAR. VAR to hell with the refereeing committee of Brazilian football, which doesn’t know how to play VAR. And VAR to hell with CBF, which does not use the money it has, and has a lot, to improve arbitration and the VAR itself.

I never understood the people who were against the use of the VAR in Brazilian football. Video assistance is used to improve various sports such as tennis, rugby, American football, volleyball, basketball, etc. But after the 2-2 between Athletico-PR and Flamengo (another one), in the middle of the week, it is more difficult to defend the equipment in Brazil. The VAR is so badly used that even Renato Gaúcho is right.

The point of contention: striker of the Paraná team, Renato Kayzer must have forgotten that someone was watching or that the game was on TV, or else he had a personal scolding with his little friend from Flamengo. So, he tried to attack him from above and below in the first half. And, amazingly, the judge saw it. And, amazingly, he did the right thing, expelling the Kayzer boy. But, amazingly, the VAR called and made the judge “unsee” what he saw. It must be something new in world football.

At the time of the expulsion, the game was already 2-0 for Flamengo and, probably, with one more player, the team from Rio would hardly lose the advantage. Lost. And the first goal in the athletic draw was “you know whoeemmm”? From himself, the intrepid attacker-boxer Kayzer. Renato Gaúcho, who never talks about refereeing, except when he talks about refereeing, got mad after the game, and with good reason.

By the way, Kayzer’s goal also caused another embarrassing moment in the refereeing. The assistant scored an offside, even with two Flamengo players giving legal status. No, it wasn’t a millimetric or “tweaked” bid (a buzzword, equivalent in popularity to the “narrative” for the CPI).

Not to mention that seeing the VAR in action is distressing, a time that doesn’t come back (not even for the game). If they used the TV broadcast to say whether it’s an impediment or not, it would be easier, and a lot faster.

But maybe Brazil’s arbitration is not to blame for being so bad. The problem is putting amateurs in charge of a sport that should be professional. If referees could dedicate themselves to being referees, the number of mistakes would probably be smaller. And it wouldn’t even cost that much money, as it makes CBF without doing almost anything.

EUROPEAN VAR

For the Champions League, the mighty PSG (a Flamengo from Europe) faced Red Bull Leipzig (the most famous Red Bull Bragantino) in Germany. End of the game, PSG winning 2-1. And the VAR calls the referee to see a push in the area that would earn a penalty for Leipzig, which was confirmed. Do you know how many players escorted the judge to the VAR monitor? None. How many were all the time talking in your ear? None. And how many vehemently complained about the change of tagging? Maybe one… at most two. That is, 20 less than in Brazil.