Index.hu writes that Viktor Kassai, Hungarian football referee participated in a historic event, as he gave the very first penalty after using video assistant referee (VAR) during the Atlético Nacional v. Kashima Antlers match on Wednesday (Dec 14).
Viktor Kassai was the main referee of one of the semi-final matches, played by Atlético Nacional (COL) v. Kashima Antlers (JPN). The Hungarian made a historic decision in the 29th minute of the football match.
Following a free kick, one of the Japanese players fell, but neither Kassai nor the other referees saw what happened, therefore, he asked for a video replay. Kassai ran to the side, to watch the screen, which made him change his original decision, so he awarded a penalty.
[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/the-hungarian-viktor-kassai-will-be-the-main-referee-of-the-opening-match-at-the-football-european-championship/” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Earlier, Kassai was the main referee of the opening match of EURO2016[/button]
Players of Nacional were not particularly happy about that, and, eventually, Doj Soma scored the penalty. While the replaying did not take much time, the whole case took about 30 sec, so it seems that it is not worth to wait 2 minutes until calling for a replay.
Anyway the Hungarian Kassai made history by using video assistant referee, for he was the first to award penalty based on such video technology at a football match. The technological system was also introduced at this tournament, and FIFA is said to be considering using it at the world championships as well.
FIFA announced that the communication between the referee and the video assistant referee was sufficient, the technology worked well, and the final decision was made by Kassai, while the VAR system supported him.
They also mentioned that further goals include a process where stopping the game could be avoided, because VAR would maintain the right to make the final decision, based on his own opinion. In the aforementioned case, Kassai agreed with the footage, both calling for a penalty.
Below, you can watch a promo video for testing of the Video Assistant Referees, which also includes the Hungarian referee, Viktor Kassai at 2:00.
Photo: MTI
Copy editor: bm