There was a lot of VAR frustration at VfB Stuttgart after the 3-3 draw in Heidenheim. Not just because of the situation surrounding the supposed 2-1 by Ermedin Demirović after just over half an hour.
The striker had scored a goal, but the goal was disallowed due to a foul on the other side. Instead, a penalty was awarded to Heidenheim. In the 73rd minute, the VfB player was once again in the spotlight. For his headed goal, VAR ruled that there was an offside position.
But after the end of the match, the Swabians saw things differently. As reported by 'Bild', assistant coach David Krecidlo showed a screenshot on his phone in the catacombs, which was supposed to prove that the offside line drawn by VAR was incorrect. "There was information. We thought another player was deeper. That hasn't been clarified yet," Sebastian Hoeneß explained when asked by 'Bild'.
According to VfB, the correct line should have been drawn at Heidenheim’s Sirlord Conteh. VAR, however, drew the line at Schimmer in the center of the penalty area. "I’ll work on not being offside, maybe lose a kilo, then my shoulder will be a bit thinner," Demirović initially commented wryly.
When he was then asked by media representatives about the possibly incorrect offside line, he became serious. "That would be outrageous, but of course we first have to see if that was really the case. But if it wasn’t, then that would be madness," Demirović is quoted as saying by 'kicker'.
However, the striker also made it clear in this context that he is not a fan of VAR: "The referee on the pitch gets a better sense of things than any computer or anyone sitting in Cologne drinking coffee and making decisions for the referees. I find that a bit weak. The referees should start taking things into their own hands again."
He also hopes that a solution will be found soon. At the end of the conversation, Demirović made it clear once again that he did not see only wrong decisions in Heidenheim. He just wanted to point out "that referees should be referees again—and if in the end everything is correct, then I’ll take that back as well."
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
