ALEXANDER ISAK was left furious last night after suffering from ‘one of the worst VAR decisions’ he has ever seen.
The Newcastle United striker was part of the Sweden side that thrashed Azerbaijan 6-0 in their final group game in the Nations League.
The Swedes delivered a dominant display in Stockholm, with Viktor Gyokeres scoring four goals and Dejan Kulusevski bagging a brace.
However, on a personal note, it was not such a good night for Isak, who missed a penalty and saw a goal chalked off in hugely controversial fashion in first-half injury time when the score was 3-0.
Gyokeres sent Isak breaking clear down the left, and the striker cut inside before drilling a low finish into the bottom corner.
A screenshot of Alexander Isak’s ‘offside’ goal (Image: Screen Shot)
There was no suggestion of offside, with Isak clearly being behind the final defender when Gyokeres played his pass, but a VAR check nevertheless took place and the goal was ruled out.
The verdict was clearly incorrect, but it has subsequently emerged that the VAR officials drew their lines on Isak at the wrong time.
Isak was in an offside position when Gyokeres received a pass deep inside his own half, but had moved back onside when the Sporting forward played him in.
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However, VAR made its decision on Isak’s position for the Gyokeres pass, meaning the goal was chalked off, to the fury of the Newcastle forward, who argued with the officials during the half-time break.
“How is that possible? Seriously. It’s almost the worst I’ve seen,” said Isak, in an interview with the Sweden Herald. “I’m happy, of course, that we win, but I score a goal that should be allowed, then it’s clear that you get annoyed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like this at this level when I’ve been involved. You’ve seen a lot of mistakes, but this one was pretty rough.
“The VAR referees stood in the player tunnel at half-time. We argued with them, but they stuck to their decision that they had made the right call.”
Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson was equally amazed by the decision, with the former Newcastle striker every bit as unhappy at half-time.
“I was furious,” said Tomasson. “The whole team was furious. I don’t understand it. For me, it was a goal, but we can’t change it.”
The incident did not affect the final outcome, but it has sparked a major debate in Sweden, which is the only nation in Europe’s top 30 not to use VAR in their domestic league. The Allsvenskan has repeatedly voted against introducing VAR into the Swedish top-flight.
