“The physical contact that took place is not to be assessed as a clearly punishable foul game in terms of the rules,” says Robert Sedlacek.
It was the excitement of the 8th Bundesliga round on Sunday. Rapid held 0-0 against the series champions for a long time and then ended up on the losing route with a penalty kick after defender Kevin Wimmer hit Salzburg attacker Adeyemi on the thigh while clearing a ball in his own penalty area.
Referee Markus Hameter had initially not rated the duel as a foul, but video assistant referee Dieter Muckenhammer brought his colleague in front of the screen after more than four minutes of video study. The result: Hameter changed his decision and decided on a penalty. Adeyemi converted to 1-0 himself, Salzburg finally won 2-0.
Two days after the game, referee chief Robert Sedlacek spoke out in a broadcast. “When assessing this situation, there are basically several factors to consider: among other things, whether the striker's fall was directly related to the – undoubtedly – contact, the intensity of the contact and whether the perception or the gaze of the referee team on the field was in a good position on the scene in question, “explains the former referee.
“According to the IFAB protocol, the VAR should only intervene in the event of clear and obvious wrong decisions by the referee. After an intensive analysis of all available camera images of the situation described above, the physical contact that has taken place cannot be assessed as a clear criminal foul game,” says Robert Sedlacek Intervention by the VAR was therefore wrong.
The #VARheit for the 8️⃣. Round of @OEFBL
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– VAR Austria (@VAR_Oesterreich) September 21, 2021
