Carlos Queiroz Slams VAR After Cristiano Ronaldo Avoids Red Card for Elbow

Referee Enrique Caceres gives a yellow card to Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during the group B match between Iran and Portugal at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk, Russia, Monday, June 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Darko Bandic/Associated Press

Iran boss Carlos Queiroz has bemoaned the referee's decision not to send off Cristiano Ronaldo during his side's 1-1 draw with Portugal on Monday, despite consulting the Video Assistant Referee to review the incident.

Ronaldo appeared to elbow Morteza Pouraliganji late in the second half, but after viewing the replay pitchside, referee Enrique Caceres decided to only award him a yellow card.

"Why?" asked Queiroz, per the Telegraph's Jim White. "The rules don't say if it is Messi or Ronaldo it is only a little bit of an elbow. It is a red card. What is the difference between an elbow by Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone else? Is his a half elbow?"

Fox Sports analyst and former footballer Stu Holden felt Ronaldo only escaped a more severe sanction due to his status in the game, a view shared by football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor:

Stu Holden @stuholden
Ok, bad use of VAR there on Ronaldo... that’s a Red card. Star power wins again #POR

Seb Stafford-Bloor @SebSB
And - yeah - that Ronaldo incident is a red card for a less famous player.

BBC Sport's Gary Lineker felt the right decision had been made, as did ESPN's Craig Burley:

Gary Lineker @GaryLineker
Think a yellow was just about right for Ronaldo. It wasn’t absolutely clear and obvious.

ESPN UK @ESPNUK
Did Ronaldo deserve a red card against Iran? @CBurleyESPN & @ShakaHislop are split on this one. https://t.co/qSGuPbI6TN

On the suggestion that Ronaldo avoided a red card because of his fame, Queiroz said, per the Guardian's Shaun Walker: "I don't know if it was this, but we have the right to know."

He further called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to refine the system to improve the communication behind the decision-making process:

"We don't know if it was the referee or the guys upstairs [who decided]. This game belongs to the people not to a couple of guys behind the scenes. My suggestion, Mr Infantino, they have to put up their hand and say: 'Sorry, VAR is not working so we have to stop it,' or the communication must be clear like rugby, when everybody knows what is going on."

...

"There's no room for human mistakes, human mistakes was before, we accept that. Players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes and referees make mistakes. But now you have one system that cost a fortune, high technology, five or six people inside, whatever, nobody takes responsibility."

It was a mixed night for VAR on Monday between Iran's draw with Portugal and Spain's 2-2 stalemate with Morocco.

Along with the Ronaldo incident, Caceres also awarded Iran a harsh penalty for a handball on Cedric Soares, prompting a strong reaction from BBC pundit Alan Shearer:

Alan Shearer @alanshearer
Well that’s the closest I’ve been to swearing on live TV! What I really wanted to say is that VAR is complete and utter bollocks!!🤣🤣 #IranPortugal #VAR #RussiaWorldCup2018

In Spain's match, Gerard Pique was fortunate to stay on the pitch after making a two-footed tackle on Khalid Boutaib early on and did not even receive a booking, perhaps benefiting from making minimal contact with the Morocco player.

Meanwhile, Iago Aspas' goal in added time was correctly upheld after initially being flagged offside.

The Independent's Miguel Delaney ran the rule over VAR's implementation at the World Cup:

Miguel Delaney @MiguelDelaney
Had VAR not been implemented in this tournament and Spain denied top spot for an onside goal being ruled out, we would have seen wailing from the other direction, about it being a joke that there's such a margin for error for a decision of such magnitude.

Miguel Delaney @MiguelDelaney
It isn't perfect, and there is a perfectly fair argument over whether it's been introduced too early for an even like this, but I think it's mostly been positive than negative so far. And would take that, to be honest.

Given it has only recently been introduced, the system was bound to encounter teething problems, particularly given many of the officials at the World Cup will have had little or no prior experience of using it.

As such, its use at this tournament perhaps has come earlier than it should, but aside from a few notable exceptions it does appear to be helping officials come to the correct decision more often than not.

FIFA will likely be closely monitoring its use throughout the tournament with the aim of improving it over time, so it should become quicker and eliminate even more mistakes—or punish more infractions—in the future.

In the meantime, Ronaldo and Pique can count themselves lucky to be playing for their teams in the round of 16.

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