Overall, it seems that there is a consensus among the Ref Watch panel that Bruno Fernandes’ red card was harsh and potentially could have been downgraded to a yellow card. The slip before the challenge and the lack of force behind it were key factors in the discussion. Ultimately, it highlights the ongoing debate around VAR and its role in decision-making in football matches.
Overall, Dermot Gallagher believes that both incidents were correctly handled by the officials. In the first incident, he explains that the ball first hit Cristian Romero’s chest before touching his arm, so it was not considered a handball. In the second incident, he mentions that the referee had already made a decision that there was no foul in the build-up to the goal, so VAR should not intervene after the goal was scored.
It seems that in both cases, the officials made the right calls based on the rules of the game. It’s always important to trust the judgment of the referees and officials on the field, as they are trained to make these decisions in real-time.