ITV co-commentator Ally McCoist could not hide his amusement as FIFA introduced a stand-by VAR official for the World Cup quarter-finals, a decision that left the broadcast team in stitches. Refereeing standards at the tournament have faced fierce scrutiny, prompting FIFA to deploy both a primary and reserve VAR official at all stadiums for the remaining fixtures.
France's showdown with Morocco became the first World Cup match to feature the new arrangement, with ITV lead commentator Jon Champion and McCoist visibly baffled by the move. Champion suggested that having fewer officials on duty would likely improve the quality of decision-making, while McCoist conjured up a wonderfully absurd scenario.
“ITV's Ally McCoist mocked FIFA's new stand-by VAR rule during France's 2-0 win over Morocco.”
"It's not one to tell the grandkids is it. 'It was brilliant lads, I was a stand-by VAR at the World Cup.' 'That must have been thrilling, grandpa.' Come on," McCoist said. He then added: "'What did you do at that World Cup, grandpa?' 'Nothing'." The pair continued to chuckle, and their scepticism appeared somewhat justified earlier in the half when a notable VAR delay occurred following the award of a penalty after a foul on Kylian Mbappe.
All VAR rulings at the World Cup had been processed at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas. In a bid to reduce the risk of technical difficulties, two officials will be stationed on-site to assist referees for the rest of the tournament. Uruguay's Leodan Gonzalez and Nicaragua's Tatiana Guzman were the appointed officials at Boston Stadium for France's 2-0 victory over Morocco.
FIFA's choices regarding referees dominated the pre-match build-up, with an all-Argentine officiating team of referee Facundo Tello and assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade selected for duty. The contentious appointment follows Egypt's manager accusing FIFA of rigging his side's dramatic 3-2 loss to Argentina. "They want Messi to stay in the tournament. In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests. What happened was unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team," he said. Responding to the allegations, FIFA's head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina hit back, stating: "Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport. Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match off…"