WORLD CUP 2018 - Final Group B Games - IRN v POR | SPA v MOR - 25th June, 19:00 BST - Live on BBC

Loved that tonight.

Cheating dirty £#%&!in bastards the lot of them.

Proper football.

Originally Posted by saffers

Not won a single game pal.

History books will show them as losers.

One for the poets...

Sad to see even as a neutral you can't acknowledge good football.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

So that's Spain v Russia and Portugal v Uruguay in the last 16.

That'll be spain in the quarters then.

Was looking the other way until a controversial decision in both games

Portugal are absolutely gash - even more so when Ron has one of those days.

William Carvalho weren't we after him once upon a time?

VAR hasn't generally been as bad as I expected, but tonight saw a major flaw. The referee is already under huge pressure from the occasion and the players on the pitch - when a decision, which by its definition is regarded as "clear and obvious" is referred, he has the added pressure of half a dozen officials who think he's made the wrong call. Has any ref so far not overturned his original decision?

The referee is getting all the stick, easy option. We should be asking why the £#%&! the bods in the video truck referred that call

Originally Posted by Sparky***

£#%&!s me off that all the best sides are just limping through the group stages and scabbing through with lucky late goals.

Spain are such jammy £#%&!ing @#%&!s.

Is that because you can't predict that they'll all smash England?

Lighten up ffs. Tight games like these make tournaments. If only Spain and Portugal had each won 3-0 tonight....

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Is that because you can't predict that they'll all smash England?

Lighten up ffs. Tight games like these make tournaments. If only Spain and Portugal had each won 3-0 tonight....

Originally Posted by Pop

This var is a right load of old %@#$&!s. Imagine shite like this in the £#%&!ing world cup final

Think we all know a var £#%&!up will be the reason England get knocked out. Doesn’t serve, what should be, it’s purpose in its current implementation.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

Think we all know a var £#%&!up will be the reason England get knocked out. Doesn’t serve, what should be, it’s purpose in its current implementation.

Then people need to re-adjust their expectations. Whoever thought that VAR would eliminate debate over decisions was naive. A matter of interpretation will never be resolved by a video. Watch it as many times as you like, there will still be people who disagree with you.

In fairness, tonight was the first time to my memory that VAR has inspired a dreadful decision.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Then people need to re-adjust their expectations. Whoever thought that VAR would eliminate debate over decisions was naive. A matter of interpretation will never be resolved by a video. Watch it as many times as you like, there will still be people who disagree with you.

In fairness, tonight was the first time to my memory that VAR has inspired a dreadful decision.

Which one are we talking about here? The Iran penalty or the Portugal one?

Spain goal was a correct decision.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

It is a bit shit really. When you slow it down and start looking at it closely even innocuous contact can look a foul, as can be seen by the record breaking amount of pens already. Refs are incompetent, and weak willed, Var is showing that as much as anything, really displaying how bad the officiating is.

They’re effectively being told by the video refs that they’ve got it wrong. Hardly any ref is going to go against the people in the var room.

Don't think that the on pitch ref should have anything to do with a Var decision. Once it goes to that point there should be a group of officials purely for those calls, away from the atmosphere of the game.

This. Each manager gets one challenge per game. If the challenge is right they get another challenge. If it isn’t, they don’t. £#%&! whether the on pitch ref’s authority is challenged. It doesn’t seem to matter in other sports.

I think the amount of slowed-down replays at all sorts of angles can only muddle a referee's thinking. Tonight's was ridiculous but generally the controversy from VAR could be at least reduced by allowing refs more time to process what they're watching and being told through the earpiece. It's a different game playing judge in the comfort of a room to being the main man in front of the world.

In cricket there have been many instances where the more you look at the replays of dubious low catches the more uncertain you are. In slow motion you can interpret different frames from one angle and another interpretation from another. You start looking to where the fielder's fingers are in relation to the grass and shadows. But the difference is the video referee will make the call and he can take as much time as he needs whereas the referee on field in football has to make the final call and in the knowledge people are getting irritated at the time taken.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Var is going to lead to more penalties than ever before, a player scores 20 goals from pens alone next season, what are the chances?

Yep

Huge concern for us with some of the brain dead defenders we’ve got in the squad. Can see Rojo getting into double figures for red cards too.

Originally Posted by andyroo

Which one are we talking about here? The Iran penalty or the Portugal one?

Spain goal was a correct decision.

The Iran one. For me the Portugal one is a penalty. Bloke cleared Ronaldo out without playing the ball.

I've been against VAR but never in doubt that it would result it more correct decisions. In time I expect it will lead to fewer players thinking they can con the ref too. It's just about whether the disruption makes it worth it, and whether people can accept that there will still be controversy.

Knew that Ronnie would miss that pen tbh. Iranian fans keeping him up all night had the desired effect

Can’t be long until the back page of the sun reads “what a VARce”

Originally Posted by believe

Can’t be long until the back page of the sun reads “what a VARce”

When it goes in our favour.

Queiroz has gone off the deep end a little bit

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz launched a blistering attack on FIFA and the use of VAR following his side's World Cup exit.

Iran were held to a 1-1 draw with Portugal on Monday evening, but Queiroz was outraged when Cristiano Ronaldo was not sent off in the final 10 minutes for an off-the-ball elbow on Morteza Pouraliganji.

The incident was reviewed on the pitchside screens by referee Enrique Caceres after a VAR referral, but he decided a yellow card would suffice.

And during a 10-minute rant in English during his post-match press conference, Queiroz said he could not understand the decision.

He said: "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.

"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.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

When it goes in our favour.

Or you write for the Irish Times

Is it a good idea to have a faceless official watching both games and "suggesting" decision to a ref that decide qualification? I'd say that's ripe for abuse.

Elbow? £#%&! off Carlos.