The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) have released a statement to explain the mysterious malfunction of VAR during the heated Fenerbahce-Istanbul Basaksehir clash on Sunday.
Another controversy has marred the Turkish Super Lig. This time, a crucial goal for Istanbul Basaksehir was ruled offside in the final minutes of their clash with Fenerbahce on Sunday evening.
Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir were set to share the points in their Super Lig encounter on Sunday until Basaksehir midfielder Eljero Elia broke the deadlock in the 81st minute.
What seemed like a well executed goal that was onside, was suddenly ruled offside by the main official despite for calls by opposition players to ask for VAR assistance.
Basaksehir’s pass which led to the goal was deemed offside by the game official.
Coincidentally, the hotly contested VAR system was reported to have “broken down” for several minutes right at the time of the goal. Thus, the referee decided to rule the goal offside without consulting with the new technology.
Replays have shown the play leading up to the goal to be onside, however. Pundits in Turkey spent hours debating the controversial scenario and some have even suggested the system only works in the favour of certain clubs.
Following the game, Basaksehir midfielder Eljero Elio, who scored the goal, took to Twitter to vent his frustration.
After public pressure, the Turkish Football Federation released a statement today to try to explain the reason for the malfunction during the contested Fenerbahce-Istanbul Basaksehir clash, claiming the power supply that provided power for the VAR equipment broke down thus shutting off the cameras which were used to broadcast from multiple angles.
Since its implementation this season, VAR has been used to deny 11 goals and referred to in 8 send offs.
In total, 29 decisions have been affected by the new technology in the first 8 weeks of Turkish Super Lig action.
