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Watch: Germany Beats Cameroon 3-1 To Reach Confederations Cup Semi-Final After Video Replay Mess

Pablo Mena — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 16:59:39 +0000

FIFA has come under fire at the Confederations Cup in Russia this year for its contentious use of video assistant referees (VARs) to review goals, and another such controversy arose on Sunday.

Germany Will Face Mexico In Confederations Cup Semifinal

Germany — the defending World Cup champions — defeated Cameroon 3-1 in Sochi to advance to the tournament semi-finals, and it came at a cost for the African champions.

Cameroon was left with ten players after referee Wilmar Roldan issued a red card to defender Sebasiten Siani for a high tackle on Liverpool midfielder Emre Can in the 63rd minute, as Germany led 1-0. After Cameroon’s players began angrily protesting and upon Roldan’s closer inspection of a field-side camera, video showed that it was in fact right-back Ernest Mabouka who had committed the foul on Can. Mabouka was then dismissed from the game three minutes after the tackle and Siani — who applauded Roldan sarcastically for his incorrect call — re-entered the field at Fisht Stadium and played the rest of the contest.

“The referee did not give any explanation,” said Cameroon coach Hugo Broos about the case of mistaken identity. “It’s a foul, fair enough but both players had their legs high up to reach the ball. I don’t understand why only my player received a red card.”

Broos doesn’t think he was alone in his confusion, however. He added that he believes everyone except for Roldan was perplexed in that moment.

Las week, Cameroon also witnessed referees issue a pair of incorrect video calls in a 2-0 loss to Chile. However, those decisions were made regarding plays involving Cameroon’s opponents. Officials used VARS to review two of Chile’s goals in that opening group-stage game on June 18: the first one was disallowed and the second one counted.

Euro 2016 champions Portugal also became angry last week after what could have been the opening goal of a 2-2 tie with Mexico was disallowed by an offside judge during an earlier moment in the game.

FIFA noted last week that all calls were ultimately corrected, and that the disputes were just unavoidable overreactions to a new play-evaluation system whose technological functioning both teams and officials are still learning and becoming accustomed to.

Siani — as well as FIFA President Gianni Infantino — are among the notable soccer figures who have stated that they firmly believe VARs are “the future” of the sport, and that soccer’s governing body will likely approve them before the 2018 World Cup in Russia next summer. Siani made that assertion following Cameroon’s defeat to Chile last week.

Two minutes after Mabouka was sent off on Sunday, 21-year-old German forward Timo Werner scored on a header to put his team up 2-0. Vincent Aboubakar then scored Cameroon’s lone goal in the 78th minute by flicking a header past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s raised hands and just inside the near post.

However, Werner struck again in the 81st minute with a clean kick from the edge of the six-yard box.

The victory marked Germany head coach Joachim Löw’s 100th win in his 150th game in charge of the national team.

In Sunday’s post-game press conference, Löw said neither he nor Can believed Mabouka’s tackle on the midfielder justified even a yellow card.

“I didn’t have the impression that it was a mean foul with the intent to hurt the opponent. It was not intentional,” Löw said through a translator.

The German coach added that he thinks only one slight adjustment needs to be made to VARs in order to improve soccer.

“I think it can be fine-tuned over time so that decisions can be made more quickly,” Löw said. “That would be great.”

Germany is now at the top of Group B with seven points, and Cameroon has been eliminated from the cup after recording just one point (no victories, one tie and two losses). Löw’s squad will next face Mexico in the second Confederations Cup semifinal on Thursday (June 29) at 2pm EST. Mexico defeated hosts Russia 2-1 on Saturday to finish second in Group A with seven points.

The other semi-final will see Group A leaders Portugal (seven points) face off against Chile — who finished second in Group B with five points — on Wednesday at 2pm EST.

Portugal crushed New Zealand 4-0 in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, while Chile tied with Australia 1-1 in Moscow on Sunday.

SOCHI, RUSSIA – JUNE 25: Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon attempts to take the ball past Niklas Suele of Germany during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 Group B match between Germany and Cameroon at Fisht Olympic Stadium on June 25, 2017 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

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Cameroon’s Sebastien Siani Calls Video Referees ‘The Future’ After Reviews Controversy In Loss To Chile

Pablo Mena — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 18:50:14 +0000

Cameroon midfielder Sebastien Siani is convinced video assistant referees (VARs) will ameliorate soccer after seeing them used in his national team’s 2-0 Confederations Cup 2017 defeat to Chile in Moscow on Sunday.

Chile Beats Cameroon 2-0 in Confederations, One Goal Disallowed after Video Review

Siani — who plays for K.V. Oostende in Belgian Pro League — says he believes the new technology that provides more accurate reviews of plays will help make the sport more fair, especially if it is used quickly.

“If we can make it a little bit faster it will be good for football,” he said. “It’s the future. Sometimes we need technology and this can help.”

The VARs discounted a goal that Chile’s barely-offside Eduardo Vargas scored just before halftime, then said another goal the forward netted under similar circumstances in the final minutes of the game was valid.

It marked the first time a video replay review was employed in a major FIFA tournament. The Confederations Cup is a tourney that pits the top national teams from each geographic region against each other.

Alexis Sanchez — an Arsenal forward— came off the bench to provide a cross for Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal, who scored on a header in the 81st minute to put Chile up 1-0 in the Russian capital.

Vargas then delivered the second goal on a rebound of a shot from Sanchez one minute into stoppage time after the Arsenal star evaded the goalkeeper but failed to pass a defender on the line. Sanchez was not marked offside for that goal.

Had Sanchez found the net, he would have become Chile’s all-time leading goalscorer. He currently boasts 37 goals, tied with former Lazio and Juventus forward Marcelo Salas, who retired in 2008.

Chile missed several early scoring opportunities despite evidently dominating Cameroon, which played much more defensively. The South American team believed they had gained the lead in first-half injury time after Vidal fed Vargas, who fired a shot past Cameroon goalie Fabrice Ondoa.

Referee Damir Skomina initially marked the goal as fair and Chile’s player began celebrating, although this rapidly stopped after it was announced the play would be reviewed.

Some confusion ensued both on the field and among the crowd, as certain players and fans seemed to think the referee had blown the whistle to signal half-time.

Following the video review, Vargas was determined to have been offside by just inches, which infuriated him and Vidal. The latter vehemently began arguing with Skomina, but to no avail as the score remained 0-0 at the break.

“After the first half we could’ve been up 1-0, and 20 seconds later, the players go to the locker room tied at 0-0,” Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said. “It’s disheartening, and we’re not used to the emotions that this situation generates, so we have to give it some time to see how it develops”.

Cameroon coach Hugo Broos, like Siani, expressed optimism about VARs despite witnessing his team, the African champions, lose its first Confederations Cup game since 2003.

“Of course if they go overboard with these types of situations, it could turn into a circus. But in this case I think it was useful and very important,” he said. “If you have these situations several times in each match, then it won’t be very comfortable for the players.”

Chile attacked aggressively from the beginning: Vargas’s first-minute shot ricocheted off the post and nearly went in after bouncing back into Ondoa. Vargas also fired a ball over the crossbar in the 40th minute.

Ondo saved a shot from Jose Fuenzalida two minutes later.

Nevertheless, most of the attention was focused on the FIFA referees and their video reviews, and Siani added that players will simply need to get used to them.

“Sometimes we lose time” waiting for rulings, and sometimes they don’t go your way, he said, but “it’s football now, we have to accept it.”

Chile and Cameroon’s other two Group B teammates — Germany and Australia — played their own opening Confederations Cup game on Monday. Germany won 3-2 in Russia, which means the defending (2014) FIFA World Cup champions and Chile lead Group B with 3 points each.

Cameroon next face Australia on Thursday for their second group-stage Confederations Cup game, while Chile and Germany will also face off later that day.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – JUNE 18: Andre Zambo of Cameroon and Gary Medel of Chile battle to win a header during the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 Group B match between Cameroon and Chile at Spartak Stadium on June 18, 2017 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

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