When broken down, there are six scenarios during this World Cup where the use of VAR is permitted. VAR only serves as an advisory tool — it never directly overrules the referee’s on-field decisions. Whether to review a call using VAR rests solely with the head referee. But after today’s dramatic matches, fans and analysts alike are asking: Is VAR truly as fair and flawless as it’s claimed to be?

Take today’s game, for instance. A last-minute VAR intervention completely flipped the outcome of Group B. It raises the question: Has VAR stripped football of its beautiful unpredictability — the very element that makes the sport so compelling? Is a VAR ruling always 100% accurate? Of course not. As Melbet Login notes, even Italian referee chief Nicola Rizzoli admitted that while VAR significantly reduces errors, it still carries a margin of about 5% for incorrect calls.

Penalty decisions, for example, often reflect a referee’s personal judgment. But with VAR, officials have become increasingly cautious, at times even second-guessing their own standards. And with offside rulings, accuracy remains imperfect. Today, when Iago Aspas received a critical pass, even slow-motion replays couldn’t definitively determine whether he was onside — yet the decision changed the outcome of the match.

Traditionally, controversial calls became part of football’s folklore — dramatic, sometimes heartbreaking, but memorable. VAR, however, has surgically removed that emotional chaos, often leaving fans with cold, clinical resolutions. Tonight, two near-simultaneous VAR calls dramatically altered the fate of both Spain and Portugal. As a result, Portugal is now headed to chilly Sochi to face a formidable Uruguay, while Spain travels to relatively comfortable Moscow to take on host nation Russia — a far more favorable draw.

In the past, people criticized referees for overly influencing match results. Now, VAR arrives under the guise of rationality and fairness — but has it truly handed control back to the players on the pitch? Or is it just another layer of bureaucracy?

The VAR process works like this: after goals, potential red cards, or penalty situations, the video assistant referee team communicates with the head referee via headset. It’s then up to the referee to decide whether to pause the game and view the replay. If the on-field official feels confident in their initial decision, they may opt to bypass VAR entirely, maintaining the game’s flow. VAR intervention is only permitted in six situations: validating goals, attacking fouls leading to goals, penalty decisions, fouls leading to penalties, direct red card incidents, and mistaken identity in carding players.

Today, in Group B, VAR was used to confirm a penalty, assess whether Cristiano Ronaldo’s elbow warranted a red card, and determine whether Aspas’ stoppage-time goal was offside. Both Spain and Portugal experienced game-altering VAR decisions in the final minutes. Portugal conceded a late penalty, while Aspas’ initially disallowed goal was ruled legitimate, pushing Spain to the top of the group via goal difference.

These few seconds of VAR intervention ultimately reshaped the group standings — and may have changed the trajectory of the entire tournament. The question remains: in its quest to ensure maximum fairness, has football lost a bit of its soul?