Ancelotti And Wenger Speak Out As Technology Proves De Bruyne Goal Should Not Have Stood
Carlo Ancelotti was shown a yellow card for his protestations to the referee after Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, and technology has since proven he was right to be upset.
After Vinicius Junior gave Madrid the lead in the first-half with a stunning striker, De Bruyne equalised after the break with a thunderb*astard of his own to level the tie ahead of the second leg at the Etihad next week.
But Madrid were furious De Bruyne’s goal was allowed to stand with Ancelotti and some of the players convinced the ball had gone out for a throw-in in the build-up.
Broadcaster beIN Sports later checked the incident using 3D technology, producing an image that showed the ball had indeed gone out of play.
In his post-match press conference, Ancelotti fumed: “The ball was off the pitch. That’s it. Technology said it. I don’t understand why VAR didn’t check. The referee didn’t pay attention to many things.”
Arsene Wenger, who is now FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development then explained: “The VAR normally should check if a goal is regular or not.
“In a situation like that, they have to intervene and they did not go far enough back to check if the ball was out or not or they [were unable] to check if the ball was out or not. I think we go for the second solution because normally VAR cannot check on the sideline, only on the goal line.
“VAR has been created to make more right decisions [based] on facts – is the ball in or out? VAR has to intervene and make the right decision, this is absolutely 100 percent.
“At the moment, I believe we cannot check on the sideline if the ball is in or out on the VAR. But we have a chip in the ball now and with a chip in the ball you can check.”
The image beIN Sports created was not instant and VAR does not yet have the technology to instantly check if the whole ball is out of play or not on the touchline.
There were also no television cameras that could provide a conclusive angle for VAR to check.
