'Not acceptable in the Euros' - Sweden describe VAR as a 'catastrophe' ahead of semi-final against England
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Published 26/07/2022 at 14:25 GMT+1
Sweden have had five goals ruled out by the video assistant in their four tournament games, including a controversial chalking off of Stina Blackstenius' goal against Belgium for offside. Kosovare Asllani claimed that UEFA had used fewer cameras at Euro 2022 than at the men's tournament last year, but the organisation has defended the implementation of technology in England this summer.
'Not acceptable, a catastrophe' - Sweden blast lack of VAR cameras at Euro 2022
Sweden have described the usage of VAR at Euro 2022 as "a catastrophe" ahead of their semi-final against England.
Peter Gerhardsson's side have had five goals ruled out after consultation with the video assistant referee in their four games at the tournament, including a goal from Stina Blackstenius, who was ruled offside, in the quarter-final win over Belgium.
Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson subsequently suggested in an interview with a newspaper that the lines used to rule on Blackstenius' offside had been drawn incorrectly.
AC Milan and Sweden forward Kosovare Asllani has claimed that UEFA are using fewer cameras to operate VAR at the tournament compared to last summer's men's Euro 2020, leading to imprecision in decision-making.
“Using 50% fewer cameras in our tournament than the men’s game, that is a catastrophe really,” Asllani said.
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“The decisions can’t be made with the same precision. It’s not just for us, for other teams too. There are situations where I think you should have more cameras, that can be really decisive.”
Asllani's position was backed up by her manager, with Gerhardsson suggesting that the error was "not acceptable".
“I think it’s strange," Gerhardsson explained. "I like VAR, I think it’s fair when they have it but, [we had] one game where they make a mistake because they draw the line on the wrong side and now we’ve heard they don’t have the same cameras.
"For me it’s not acceptable in a Euros.
“We haven’t seen it ourselves but a Swedish referee at home in a studio pointed out that they drew the line incorrectly… then you’re incompetent at your job. Talking about the cameras, there shouldn’t be a difference whether it’s women’s or men’s football.”
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UEFA have defended the implementation of VAR at the tournament, suggesting that the number of cameras used is the same as in the men's Champions League.
A UEFA spokesperson said: “The TV production for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 is on a par with the standard production for the men’s UEFA Champions League.
“More importantly, VAR camera support at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 is higher than for the men’s UEFA Champions League and men’s UEFA EURO due to the availability of additional offside and EPTS [Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems] cameras.”
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