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GOT IT RON
Cristiano Ronaldo should have seen red for World Cup elbow but Iran penalty was rightly awarded
Paraguayan ref Enrique Caceres made two huge VAR calls which have split opinion across the world
CRISTIANO RONALDO SHOULD have been sent off against Iran, according to Fifa’s pre-World Cup briefing.
But Iran’s contentious late penalty WAS rightly awarded.
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The two big VAR calls by Paraguayan ref Enrique Caceres divided opinion from fans and pundits alike.
Ronaldo’s reaction when he was only shown a yellow card by the official after a VAR review into his clash with Iranian defender Morteza Pouraliganji showed the Real Madrid superstar feared the worst.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz blasted the ref for the lack of “justice”. He said: “It is a red card.
“The question, for me, is not about the referees. It is about the attitude and the bravery and the character.”
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And Caceres is likely to be in trouble with Fifa after referees’ chief Massimo Busacca promised before the tournament started there would be “zero tolerance” of stray elbows.
Busacca and former top whistler Pierluigi Collina showed the disciplinary video which was sent to all 32 teams at a news conference in the Luzhniki Stadium two days before the start of the tournament.
Fifa is under pressure to comment on the incidents in the game in Saransk after the Swiss said: “There will be zero tolerance of stray elbows.
“If you lead with an elbow it will be a red cards.
“Any unsporting behaviour of serious foul play will be quite impossible to miss. It has to be a red card.”
But while SunSport’s Alan Shearer blasted the “shambles” over Iran’s late penalty, Busacca’s pre-World Cup guidelines mean Caceres is likely to be backed by Fifa.
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Portugal defender Cedric Soares was penalised when the ball struck his raised hand and Shearer added: “If the referee thinks that is a deliberate handball that is crazy.”
Yet in the Fifa video, it was made clear that any occasions when the ball struck arms on hands in “unnatural positions” would see penalties awarded.
Busacca added: “When it is viewed as hand to ball, when the arm is now down, the VAR official will tell the referee to have a look.
“For us it is a penalty, 100 per cent. It is not a grey area. There will be no discussion. Referees and VAR officials are very clear on that.”
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