OFFICIAL CLUB STATEMENT NAV STANDARD - KVO

Standard - KVO, Friday 20 August.

All the ingredients were there for a wonderful game of football: a Sclessin that was as buzzing as ever and a football atmosphere that we have missed for far too long, with supporters singing and jumping (unfortunately not our visiting fans). But also two teams who gave it their all, resulting in a game that went up and down and chances on both sides.

Unfortunately this match was decided (again) by a very questionable arbitration decision:
77 minutes, 25 seconds: Amallah kicks in the 1-0.
77 minutes, 49 seconds. The TV picture below shows that Amallah is (most probably) offside with one foot and his upper body. The TV-commentators on duty also indicate that the goal will probably be disallowed after consulting the VAR.

80 minutes, 21 seconds (Three minutes after the goal!): the goal is approved after all.

However, this without a VAR line in sight. Since the ball and foot were in the air, would this not be technically possible?

Consideration 1: Why do we have a VAR system? Surely to be able to show in black and white whether or not it's offside? We didn't see this happen at the European Championships, for example in the final between Italy and England.

Consideration 2: If VAR doesn't work, why doesn't referee Visser take a look at the screen himself? Then he would be able to decide, based on the images that are available, that it is most probably offside. But then again, he might not be allowed to because it is not a 'Clear and Obvious Error'. A term that is used all the time to justify the decisions of referees. We are already looking forward to Frank De Bleeckere's chat from the Referee Department on Monday ...

By the way, was there a 'Clear and Obvious Error' a few months ago at Mouscron when none other than Lawrence Visser in the VAR van signalled that a goal by Sakala should have been disallowed after Theate was allegedly offside after a corner kick? "We saw certain things that you cannot see," was the explanation then. Nobody understood it, but in the eyes of VAR it was a 'Clear and Obvious Error'.

Or what about Mehdi Carcela who kicked Jack Hendry off the pitch last season in KVO - Standard after a foul that deserved dark red? No 'Clear and Obvious Error'? Also last season we lost at Standard after prior offside. Nothing was checked by VAR then.

We are convinced that the VAR system can add value to our football, but only if it is applied correctly and consistently. And that's not the case now.

There is (too) much arbitrariness in decisions. Either out of ignorance or deliberately. We don't want to think the latter. Although it is not uncommon for a decision to turn out in favour of a G5-team (or is it G6 or G7 in the meantime, who decides?).

Last but not least, there was also a second yellow card for Arthur Theate, while the striker of Standard himself hit Theate.

Unfortunately a match in Belgium is again decided by a mistake of the arbitration. Players, trainers, administrators, ... have to account for their actions, why not the referees and the Belgian Football Federation?

To end on a positive note, we'd like to thank Standard for the excellent reception yesterday and for the sportsmanship after the game, with a great reaction from coach Mbaye Leye. The interaction between both trainers live on TV after the game is already the interview moment of the weekend.

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Standard - KVO, Friday 20/8.

All the ingredients were there for a wonderful game of football: a swirling Sclessin-stadium as usual and a football atmosphere that we have missed for far too long, with singing and jumping supporters (unfortunately not yet with our visiting fans). But also two teams that went 100 %, resulting in a game that went up and down and opportunities on both sides.

Unfortunately, this match was (again) decided by a highly questionable arbitration decision:

77 minutes, 25 seconds: Amallah heads in the 1-0.

77 minutes, 49 seconds. The TV picture below shows that Amallah is (most likely) offside with one foot and with his upper body. The TV commentators on duty also indicate that the goal may be disallowed after consultation by the VAR.

80 minutes, 21 seconds (three minutes after the goal!): the goal is nevertheless approved.

This, however, without showing a VAR line. Since the ball and the feet were in the air, this wouldn't be technically possible?

Remark 1: Why do we have a VAR system? Still to be able to demonstrate for 100 % at such phases whether or not it is offside? We couldn't see this happen at the European Football Championship in, let's say, the final between Italy and England.

Remark 2: If the VAR doesn't work, why doesn't referee Visser take a look at the screen himself? Then, based on the images that do exist, he could still judge that this is more than likely offside? But that may not be allowed because it is not a 'Clear and Obvious Error'. A term that is used inappropriately to justify the decisions of the referees. We are already looking forward to the official explanation from Frank De Bleeckere of the Referee Department on Monday ...

By the way, was there a 'Clear and Obvious Error' in Mouscron a few months ago when none other than Lawrence Visser signaled in the VAR van that a Sakala goal had to be disallowed after Theate had been offside after a corner kick? "We saw certain things that you can't see," was the explanation at the time. Nobody understood it, but in the eyes of the VAR it was a 'Clear and Obvious Error' at the time.

Or what about Mehdi Carcela who kicked Jack Hendry off the pitch in KVO - Standard last season after a foul that deserved dark red? No Clear and Obvious Error? Also last season we lost to Standard after a previous offside phase. Then there was no 'VAR check' either.

We are convinced that the VAR system can add value to our football, but only if it is applied correctly and consistently. And that is not the case now.

There is (too) great arbitrariness in decisions. Either out of ignorance or deliberately. We don't really want to think about that last option. Although it is not uncommon for a decision to turn out in favor of a G5 team (or is it G6 or G7 in the meantime, who decides this?).

Last but not least there was also a second yellow card for Arthur Theate, while the attacker of Standard himself knocks against Theate.

Oh well, it was a beautiful evening of football, with Sclessin-stadium churning as usual. Football as we've missed it for far too long. With supporters songs (unfortunately not yet from our visiting fans), with two teams that went 100 % for it, opportunities on both sides, with a wonderful reception for our board, with a fair Standard trainer Mbaye Leye after the game, ... All ingredients were present for a spectacular football evening.

Unfortunately, a match in Belgium is again decided due to an error by the referees.
Players, coaches, directors, ... have to be held accountable for their actions, why not the referees and the Belgian football association?

To end on a positive note, we would like to thank Standard for the excellent reception yesterday and for the sportsmanship after the game, with a great response from their coach Mbaye Leye. The interaction between the two trainers after the match live on TV is already the interview moment of the weekend.

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