UEFA Officialy Removes VAR From Champions League Fixture

UEFA officialy removes VAR from champions league fixture (Image Source: IANS)

The Video Assistant Referee: The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) who reviewed the penalty given to PSG against Newcastle has been stood down by UEFA from Wednesday game.

UEFA has suspended the VAR who directed the referee to the pitchside monitor prior to Paris Saint-Germain's late penalty against Newcastle.

In Tuesday's match, the Magpies had a 1-0 lead over PSG in injury time before Tino Livramento was called for a contentious incident involving ball handling. The spot kick was scored by Kylian Mbappe, which hurt Newcastle's chances of qualifying.

Referee Szymon Marciniak was urged by VAR Tomasz Kwiatkowski to examine the incident on the pitchside monitor after he first dismissed claims for a penalty. After watching the replay, the referee pointed to the spot even though the ball deflected off Livramento's torso before reaching his arm at close range.

In the last moments, Eddie Howe's team dropped from second place in Group F to third, as Kylian Mbappe stepped up to convert the penalty kick in the 98th minute, sealing their fate.

The VAR specialist from Poland, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, is no longer listed to work at the Real Sociedad-Salzburg game and has been replaced by a German match official.

Removing the Polish official seems to be a sign that UEFA doesn't think the penalty was rightly given.