Mainz’s controversial win over Cologne was another example of why VAR isn't working, and it's cost Cologne more points. The fans aren't happy and neither are the coaches, so why do we persevere?
Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Stache
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Once again it’s video referees making dubious calls that change the course of the game, and once again Cologne are involved.
Just before kickoff, Mainz fans protested against the VAR project and the way it’s been implemented so far, and their criticism couldn’t have proved more accurate.
This time it was a penalty decision at the end of the first half. Referee Felix Brych pointed to the spot and the VAR in Cologne approved, even though replays showed clearly Pablo De Blasis dived.
The 71st minute brought another questionable decision as a brawl between Leonardo Bittencourt and Giulio Donati ended with a red card for the Mainz defender, without any help from VAR.
Once the replay started doing the rounds on social media, many at the Opel Arena couldn't believe VAR could fail in such a colossal way.
“Didn’t he ask the VAR for help? How can they not see it?” shouted one Cologne fan in disbelief, saying what most were thinking. “It just can’t be,” said another Mainz fan. The decision was met with confusion among fans at the ground, and the same could be said about Donati’s red card.
Donati was dismissed in the 71st minute — but not everyone was happy with the callImage: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
“It’s really bitter”
That feeling was epitomized by how both coaches reacted after the match. At a short, five-minute press conference, both coaches were only asked one question, and it was about those two decisions. Both said the exact same thing. Cologne coach Peter Stöger looked dejected after being asked about the outcome of yet another video refereeing decision that went against his team.
After five seconds of taking a long, deep breath, the Austrian said it was a “very bitter decision for us. Nothing to say apart from that.” His Mainz counterpart Sandro Schwarz agreed, and added that Donati’s red card should also get a mention.
Referee Brych may have admitted after the match that his decision was wrong, but it’s not very likely to change the general sentiment. Mainz vs Cologne will be another match to VAR-opponents' long list.
Cologne have been on the wrong end of several bad VAR calls this seasonImage: picture alliance/dpa/T. Frey
"They only care about people watching on TV!”
And those heading that list will be Germany’s match-going supporters. The technology is being met with contempt by the fans whenever it is implemented, regardless of the final decision or whose team it benefits. Matches are being halted for two to three minutes just for the officials to make up their minds, while the supporters must wait, left in the dark.
“There’s no balance between how the game is being experienced at the stadium and getting it right,” said one Mainz fan while stadium-goers were waiting for the final verdict to come from Cologne. Others shouted that the time it takes for the video officials to make a decision is "killing football… They only care about people watching on TV!”
And that feeling is part of a general sense of disenchantment among football fans across Germany at how German football’s governing body (the DFB) runs the game. VAR, in the eyes of many of the supporters that made the Bundesliga such an international attraction, is another step in the wrong direction.
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Bartra-Burki horror show
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Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Hangst
Legally blonde
There's no stopping Bayern Munich at the moment and they recorded yet another win under Jupp Heynckes. Robert Lewandowski, sporting a new blonde look, scored Bayern's second — above — and third goals in a 3-0 win to make it a miserable trip to Munich for Augsburg.
Image: Imago/Eibner
First blood to Leipzig
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Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Piledriver
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Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Hangst
Carneval in Mainz
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Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
Winning Wolfsburg
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Image: imago/Hübner
On the spot
Borussia Mönchengladbach went third in the Bundesliga on Saturday night after a goal-fest in Berlin. Thorgan Hazard (pictured) scored the second from the spot after a handball by Hertha's Karim Rekik as the Foals raced into a 3-0 first-half lead. Despite a Hertha fightback, Dieter Hecking's side eventually ran out 4-2 winners.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/B. Streubel
Firing Franco
Franco Di Santo gives Schalke the lead from the penalty spot, bringing up his first league goal of the season. In fact, it was Di Santo's first Bundesliga goal since March 2016, having gone the whole of last season — or 1,054 minutes — without finding the net.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Baron
Kruse control
Werder Bremen celebrate Max Kruse's first goal of the game — Bremen's second — which was a strike to behold. The forward caressed the ball first-time into the top corner to put daylight between them and Hannover. Kruse scored a hat-trick, his first Bundesliga goals this season.
