On Saturday, France was awarded a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) penalty, a bit belatedly, after the foul by Joshua Risdon of Australia on Antoine Griezmann of France. It was pretty a nifty experience to see the magic of VAR!
But immediately after Australia was defeated by France 2-1, the victims cried foul all over the world. Fans screamed from the rooftops saying VAR kills the thrill, VAR freezes the game, VAR is like a dictator.
VAR takes such a long time for reviewing, a friend of mine quipped sarcastically, that it is like waiting for your wife to get ready (which always takes a little bit too long) before attending an important function.
It is certain that the use of video to help referees in this World Cup would not stop the disputes. It would rather unleash a 'Tug of War' between the victors and the losers. VAR or any other system with the power to pauses a play frequently will unquestionably raise eyebrows with concerns about maintaining the players' flow on the field. Football, pundits say, thrives on continuous actions. The momentum a team thus gains must not be compromised by a gismo.
There will be bumps no doubt, but the use of replay by VAR system in critical situations is still welcome to make this World Cup a fairer event and to reduce on-the-field protests and arguments. VAR will at least stop a repetition of Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.
After midnight on Monday, as fans of Brazil were basking in the delight of Philippe Coutinho's brilliant free-kick goal with a wonderful curling strike, there was suddenly a chill in the air. To their chagrin, Switzerland's Zuber equalised early in the second half! Zuber apparently pushed Miranda in the back which pushed him forward and off balance. Brazil complained bitterly that Zuber's goal ought to have been disallowed but the referee, César Ramos, ignored them.
The VAR panel had at least one minute to review this push and shove. Why was not the moment of 'foul or not' scrutinised? Was it a foul in the truest sense of the term?
The equaliser caused VAR-related uproarious consternations. With Mexico's shock 1-0 win over the four-times World Cup champions Germany still benumbing our mind, we were having a premonition of an imminent disaster. Before the game started we imagined Brazil should breeze through a relatively easy group that includes Costa Rica, Serbia and that night's opponents Switzerland. But now we were fearing the worst: Brazil, like Germany, God forbid, could be defeated by Switzerland!
To an avid Brazil supporter, Switzerland goal was a clear push and foul and to him the fact that VAR didn't act on this glaring foul just shows how useless the VAR is.
Well, Zuber did push the defenders before scoring. True. But it was a marginal foul rather than a clear error by the referee.
One should remember that pushing and shoving always happens during a corner kick. Zuber, the Swiss equaliser, was surrounded by five Brazilian defenders and yet still he managed to score. From that angle of view, should Zuber's goal be deemed controversial as the defender felt a minimal push on the back?
In footballs, frankly speaking, we are accustomed to watching a vast amount of pushing and grabbing hold of other players.
With a priceless result within their grasp, Switzerland were in no mood to relinquish their momentum. They dug deeper, got their resolve hardened. Brazil too turned up the intensity. They created a flurry of chances but the ball would not go in.
Football magician Neymar had posted a message on the eve of the game in which he declared himself unafraid of dreaming big. "Let's go Brazil - for the sixth!" he wrote.
But he and his hairstyle frustrated us. His hairstyle is stupid. He was lackadaisical. We didn't find him using his magic wand. He was fouled a lot, although we would also say that many of those fouls were when he turned unexpectedly and then there were contacts between him and his opponent. If he had not made those surprising turns, those wouldn't happen. Neymar's new hairdo, to many of us, is weird and to some extent disgusting. It looks as if he dipped his head into a large bowl of overcooked spaghetti and that stuff stuck like glue. He would look better if he had shaved his head neat and clean without a single thread of spaghetti.
There is a saying: "The World Cup starts when Brazil play their first match".
On the balance of play, Brazil deserved to win. They had 21 shots to Switzerland's 6. Brazil played well in the first half. On a different day, it would be 3-0 at halftime.
Neymar is still not up to speed. Neither does he match fitness. He was hacked throughout the game which did not help, but as usual, he held on to the ball too long.
Problem is Brazil have only two ways of playing: Plan A: All the balls to Neymar. Plan B: All the balls to Neymar.
If Neymar is not in top form, yes, then the yellow canaries would find themselves in deep water. So, there should be a third plan: Playing without Neymar.
That Germany, Argentina and Brazil look a bit listless is not a bad piece of news. It is always good to see all the red-hot favourites humbled in their first games. Historically, the first round is usually jittery, the second round is where the teams are more settled and focused and that is the time when quality tends to start showing up.
There are enthusiasts, those who perennially support the underdogs, who fancy seeing all the 'so-called' big teams going down in flames. They would love to see Argentina, Brazil and Germany go down in flames and go out in the group stages. Will their wish be smiled on by fortune? No, not in this World Cup.
Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Uruguay are teams that are never to be written-off. They can be rather poor one game but outstanding the next. Spain and Portugal look quite dangerous.
Germany is not unbeatable, France is still resilient, Argentina is Argentina. Brazil is Brazil. Even though Spain drew with Portugal, they look the strongest of the big teams so far.
Switzerland (who knows?) could still win both their remaining games and top the group!
We look ahead to Monday's games, including England's World Cup opener with Tunisia. There's also a word of warning to Belgium: don't underestimate Panama, and news of a Swedish spy at South Korea's training session.
