In a heart-wrenching AFC Champions League match, Shandong Taishan need to pay extra attention because the VAR video assistant referee in this game is brilliant, as if more eager to win than the home team players and coaches, eager to help Yokohama Mariners to unify the world. The VAR's approach to penalizing the Yokohama Mariners was staggering and stole the show. Especially in the end of extra time, the VAR had no qualms about interfering with the game for the Yokohama Mariners' sake.
VAR intervened in the match three times: twice for Yokohama Marinos' penalties and once for a red card for Bangkok United. If we only consider the reasonable intervention of VAR, the first two interventions are already puzzling, and even the referee is difficult to accept.
In the first half of extra time, in the 100th minute, an attacking player fell to the ground during a tug of war between players from the home team's corner kick (see photo below). The match continued as usual, with the Yokohama Mariners players not signaling a foul. However, only a minute later, the VAR video assistant referee intervened - pointing out that the visiting player had pulled down the home player - and awarded a penalty kick.
Although the referee was on hand to watch the video replay, he decided it was a normal defensive move and did not award a penalty. Bangkok United got away with it, but the VAR video assistant referee didn't stop there. In the 107th minute of extra time, a Bangkok United defender intentionally tripped the Yokohama Mariners (see below).
The referee showed a yellow card warning on the spot. However, after a minute and a half of countdown, the VAR again reminded the referee that it was a red card action. The referee went to the spot again and realized that it was not a red card at all, as the Bangkok United player who committed the foul was not the last defender (see below), and the action did not constitute a red card at all.
Despite this, the referee did not take the advice of the VAR video assistant referee. However, the drama continued! In the final minutes of the match, the VAR Video Assistant Referee finally came into play - it was the last penalty kick of the match.
The penalty kick was quite controversial! With the game in the 117th minute, a home player signaled a foul by a visiting player to stop a cross. A discussion ensued amongst the home players around the penalty kick, but the referee initially judged it to be a corner kick. The VAR video assistant referee then quickly intervened.
In the 118th minute, after communicating with the VAR video assistant referee, the referee determined that it was a free kick outside the penalty area (see above). The Yokohama Mariners did not relent and continued to argue around the penalty kick. Surprisingly, the VAR Video Assistant Referee continued to communicate with the referee, insisting that it was a penalty kick.
Finally, in the 120th minute, the referee succumbed to the opinion of the VAR video assistant referee and was forced to recognize the penalty kick as valid. It was with this goal that the Yokohama Mariners beat their opponents and managed to advance. It was an extremely outrageous intervention by the video assistant referee, finding ways to deliver warmth to the home team, and one could simply describe the favoritism towards the home team as reckless. Therefore, Shandong Taishan must be on their guard in the next round against Yokohama Marinos. Such VAR intervention is rare in the Chinese Super League!
