VAR continues to attract controversy, despite a generally higher standard of officiating in the European Championship in comparison to the Premier League.
Fans watching the competition were left confused after Romelu Lukaku’s challenge during Belgium’s 2-0 victory over Finland – deemed by several neutrals to be a carbon copy of Ethan Ampadu’s red-card offence – went unpunished by Felix Brych and his refereeing team.
The Welshman had been given his marching orders during Wales’ 1-0 defeat at the hands of Roberto Mancini’s Italy outfit after his studs caught the ankle of Federico Bernardeschi.
READ MORE: (Video) Goalkeeper error hands Belgium lead after Vermaelen header ricochets off crossbar
In the spirit of fairness, the Belgian frontman’s challenge theoretically should have earned him an early return to the dugout, though nothing is as simple as that when it comes to the technology in question.
While thankfully rarer when it comes to international fixtures, it seems somewhat bizarre that a standard for such fouls hasn’t been agreed upon among referees and that such challenges can result in vastly varied decisions from officials and those operating VAR.
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