After the VAR intervention at FC Bayern: rule makers take action

In future, the video referee may also intervene in soccer when a goal is scored, as RB Leipzig was wrongly denied in the Bundesliga opener at FC Bayern Munich. Before the supposed RB goal in the 6-0 defeat last Friday, referee Florian Badstübner, his assistants and the fourth official had overlooked the fact that Leipzig's Castello Lukeba had taken a free-kick incorrectly.

Instead of playing the ball, Lukeba had simply dribbled off with it. This situation led to the initially awarded 1:4 from Leipzig's point of view. Bayern captain Joshua Kimmich protested so vehemently that he was shown a yellow card. Badstübner then rescinded the goal after prior consultation with the video assistant referee. The German Football Association conceded that the VAR should not have intervened in this situation.

DFB: "More fairness and legal certainty"

The International Football Association Board (Ifab) has now issued a clarification for such a case. According to a DFB statement, the VAR may also intervene "if a player illegally plays or touches the ball twice during the execution of a continuation of play without being penalized by the referee and the resulting attacking phase leads to a goal or a penalty kick for the player's team".

After the match in Munich, there was an intensive exchange between the referees in world soccer and Jochen Drees, the head of video referees at DFB Schiri GmbH. Drees now spoke of "more fairness and also legal certainty". Drees approached Ifab immediately after the unusual incident in the opening match, added Knut Kircher, Managing Director of Sport and Communication at DFB Schiri GmbH. "We wanted to have and create clarity quickly," emphasized Kircher.