The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has sent a letter to FIFA protesting the disallowed goal of Vinicius Jr. during Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Scotland in the World Cup, claiming inconsistency in VAR standards.
The incident happened in the first half when Brazil were already leading by 1-0. Vinicius had cleverly dispossessed Scottish defender Jack Hendry and sent the ball to the back of the net for the second time in the match.
The on-field Mexican referee Cesar Ramos did not call it a foul but following a VAR review, the goal was disallowed, ruling that Vinicius had fouled the Scottish defender before scoring the goal.
According to Brazilian outlet Estadao, the CBF has sent a letter to FIFA in protest of the goal annulment.
“Brazil's disallowed goal against Scotland in the 21st minute does not seem to align with the philosophy adopted throughout the competition,” Estadao quoted from the CBF letter.
“It is worth noting that the decision seemed unexpected not only for the Brazilian team, but also for the Scottish players, whose immediate reactions suggested that they did not expect a review or the subsequent annulment of the goal,” it further read.
This is the second time a federation has complained about refereeing decisions in the ongoing tournament.
Earlier, Algeria had lodged a formal complaint at FIFA’s refereeing commission, protesting unpunished offences in their group stage encounter against Argentina, especially about Lionel Messi not getting booked for a studs-up challenge on defender Aissa Mandi.
In the 30th minute of the match, Messi lunged in from behind and stomped on Mandi’s right calf and Achilles tendon region.
The on-field referee awarded Algeria a free kick but Messi did not receive a card for the offense. The VAR also did not intervene.
The CBF hinted at the incident and complained there was a lack of consistency.
“One aspect that particularly caught our attention during this tournament was the approach adopted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Throughout the competition, there seems to have been a clear emphasis on respecting the on-field referee's interpretation and limiting intervention to situations involving clear and obvious errors,” the document read.
The Brazilian federation urged FIFA to uphold consistency in VAR interventions for the rest of the tournament.
“Our main interest is not to revisit individual decisions, but to ensure that the criteria governing VAR intervention are applied consistently, transparently and equally to all teams throughout the tournament,” the CBF said.