Saransk (Russia), June 26 (IANS) Iran national football team’s coach, Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, was critical of the video assistant referee (VAR) despite his team earning a 1-1 draw in their match against Portugal, thanks to a penalty awarded because of the system.
“I have to be careful because FIFA is here,” the coach joked before speaking of other incidents such as the first penalty, which was in favour of Portugal, reports Efe.
“It was a bit strange when he gave a penalty as nobody knew what was happening. It took a while to stop play and then five or six people saw the incident on a slow motion camera. As a coach, you have to have the possibility of knowing what’s going on,” Queiroz said after Monday’s match.
“I don’t want to talk about it any more or have problems, but it stopped play, it’s the same story. I said it yesterday and I repeat it now: I don’t want to know if my daughter is a bit pregnant, only fully pregnant. VAR isn’t going well, it’s not working,” Queiroz said.
“The only country who isn’t complaining is Iran, we haven’t asked for anything.”
At one point in the match, the referee resorted to the VAR to examine Cristiano Ronaldo’s possible aggression on another player, which eventually led to a yellow card.
“I don’t know if he wasn’t sent off because of who he is and a star of football, that’s a good question. But what doesn’t make any sense is all this, seeing something and showing a yellow,” he added.
In addition, the coach praised his team’s great work in the field, saying they have “achieved a great prize in this competition, competing with the best in the world”.
Queiroz also congratulated the Portugal team: “I hope they win, I’m a Portugal fan from now on.”