Is Argentina getting special favor in refereeing? There has been endless debate over the question at this World Cup, and the issue has been raised anew on social media, especially after several decisions in the round-of-16 match against Egypt and the quarterfinal against Switzerland. But the statistics show a somewhat different picture.
After losing to Argentina and going out in the round of 16, Egypt’s coach and several players openly alleged that this World Cup had been arranged to favor the defending champions. There was then no little controversy over the sending-off of Switzerland striker Breel Embolo in the quarterfinal, with many saying VAR intervention had not been needed in that incident.
Northeastern Global News analyzed data on VAR decisions and found that, from the group stage to the round of 16, Argentina were second on the list of teams most helped by VAR. Top of the list were the tournament’s joint hosts, Mexico. According to the analysis, not a single VAR decision went against Argentina up to the round of 16, and the same was true for Mexico.
Measured by VAR interventions per 100 fouls, the five most-favored teams were Mexico (7.8 for, 0.0 against), Argentina (6.7, 0.0), Portugal (4.6, 0.0), New Zealand (4.2, 0.0) and Saudi Arabia (3.6, 0.0). The most negative VAR impact, on the other hand, fell on Croatia. The 2018 World Cup runners-up did not receive a single VAR decision in their favor in the entire tournament, while interventions against them ran at 6.5 per 100 fouls. Next on that list were Iran (0.0 for, 5.4 against), Qatar (0.0, 5.1), Germany (0.0, 4.0) and England (0.0, 3.5).
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report