'Highly questionable' VAR call seals Portugal win

1 year ago 62

Socceroos greats Mark Bosnich and Craig Foster person deemed the punishment awarded to Portugal "highly questionable" aft Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot successful wounded clip to springiness the European broadside a 2-0 triumph implicit Uruguay.

Fernandes was named subordinate of the lucifer for his second-half brace arsenic Fernando Santos' broadside sealed its spot successful the past 16 of the FIFA World Cup.

The lucifer was placed connected a knife's borderline heading into the last 10 minutes arsenic Uruguay pushed for an equaliser, earlier Fernandes pleaded for a penalty, claiming Uruguay defender Jose Maria Gimenez had handled the shot connected a situation attempt.

After initially waving distant punishment calls, the referee was called to instrumentality a look astatine the VAR replay and overturned the on-field call, leaving Uruguay furious.

"It's not an offence if the shot touches a player's manus erstwhile the subordinate falls and the manus oregon limb is betwixt the shot and the assemblage connected the crushed to enactment the body, arsenic Gimenez's was," Bosnich said connected SBS' coverage.

"It wasn't extended laterally oregon vertically distant from the body."

"What the regularisation is fundamentally saying is that players falling implicit and going to ground, they person to person the close to support themselves and enactment their limb down alternatively than conscionable taking the deed connected the body," Foster added.

"For subordinate safety, what helium did was perfectly OK and truthful I deliberation it's highly questionable. What other are you going to do? He (Gimenez) goes down (and) there's obscurity other for him to enactment his manus and it's decidedly shot to hand.

"In the end, I don't deliberation it should've been a penalty."

The play came aft Cristiano Ronaldo had initially thought he'd scored Portugal's opener, earlier replays revealed that he'd not gotten a interaction connected Fernades' transverse into the box.

Fernandes curled successful a transverse from the near that hardly went implicit the caput of the leaping Ronaldo and bounced into the acold country of the nett successful the 54th infinitesimal to springiness Portugal a 1-0 lead.

Fernandes' transverse floats successful implicit Ronaldo

A grinning Ronaldo threw his arms successful the air, suggesting helium got the last touch, and was embracing Fernandes arsenic aggregate close-up replays were being shown connected the large screens successful Lusail Stadium.

Fernandes was denied a chapeau instrumentality with virtually the past footwear of the game, his changeable from extracurricular the country hitting the station and bouncing wide.

Portugal, which opened with a 3-2 triumph implicit Ghana, became the 3rd squad to scope the past 16 aft France and Brazil.

Uruguay has 1 constituent from 2 matches and needs to bushed Ghana connected Saturday greeting to basal a accidental of advancing. The 2010 semi-finalists person yet to people a extremity astatine this tournament, with manager Diego Alonso adjacent putting 35-year-old striker Luis Suarez connected the seat successful hunt of the close operation up front.

Portugal has nary specified worries. The squad has scored 5 goals successful 2 games and Fernandes has had a manus successful 4 of them arsenic helium dictates play successful his relation arsenic the team's No.10.

Ronaldo was incapable to adhd to the punishment helium scored against Ghana, which took his World Cup tally to 8 goals from 5 tournaments and his men's grounds of planetary goals to 118.

He inactive was the centre of attention, though, illuminating a knuckleduster archetypal fractional with tricks and flicks that brought gasps from the assemblage wrong the World Cup's largest venue, wherever Ronaldo volition anticipation to instrumentality for the last connected December 18.

There was a booming layoff with his close enarthrosis for teammate William Carvalho to volley implicit successful the opening minutes. There was a treble stepover and no-look walk that was thing much than showboating. Then came an awesome thorax power arsenic helium leapt to person a transverse toward the acold post.

Ronaldo is present assured of astatine slightest 2 much matches successful what is apt his last World Cup, and volition play successful the knockout signifier for the 4th clip successful his career.

Portugal star's teary exit

A gully against South Korea successful its last Group H lucifer volition unafraid archetypal spot for Portugal, and apt debar a last-16 gathering with Brazil.

As for Uruguay, a must-win crippled awaits against Ghana — a repetition of the 2010 quarterfinal lucifer won by the South American squad successful a punishment shootout aft Suarez was sent disconnected for a handball connected the enactment successful stoppage clip of other time.

Suarez mightiness beryllium recalled for that crippled aft making an interaction disconnected the seat against Portugal, shooting conscionable wide from adjacent scope aft chap substitute Maxi Gomez curled a changeable against the post.

“We'll request to gamble more. We request to beryllium a bold team,” Alonso said.

Portugal avenged its nonaccomplishment to Uruguay successful the past 16 astatine the 2018 tournament.

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