Carlos Queiroz stuck it to VAR last night, after the technology failed to send off Cristiano Ronaldo when the Portugal captain appeared to elbow Morteza Pouraliganji.
The former Manchester United assistant coach railed against the decision, arguing that just because it was Ronaldo star player he still should have seen red:
The reality is you stop the game for VAR and there is an elbow. An elbow is a red card in the rules. The rules don't say if it is Messi or Ronaldo it's a little bit.
The 65-year-old then came up with a humorous analogy for the technology:
Going back to the story about my daughter yesterday, I need to know if I am a grandfather or not. I don't want to know if my daughter is 'a little bit' pregnant or there is evidence.
Queiroz went on to question the character and bravery of referees using VAR, and came to the conclusion that the introduction of the technology is failing:
The decisions must be clear for everybody, for the people. In my opinion, Mr Infantino and FIFA, VAR is not going well. That is the reality.
The truth must be respected and we need to know who is refereeing the games. I am not in a good mood, as you can see.
If you implement VAR then to make mistakes is not human. To make mistakes is when a man alone on the pitch could not see something. We accept that.
But when you have high-technology, training, thousands of dollars spent on one system and five guys sitting upstairs and they don't see an elbow. It's a yellow card? Give me a break.
Iran came desperately close to snatching a win at the death against Portugal last night, team Melli had a dubious decision go in their favour when Cedric Soares was harshly adjudged to have handballed in the box, Ansarifard slotting home to level the game and deep into injury time Mehdi Taremi spurned a glorious chance to win the game and send Iran into the knockout round. But after the game all of the discussion surrounded referee Enrique Caceres and his application of VAR during the course of the game.
