5 Moments in football history that needed a VAR intervention

#2 Carlos Tevez’s offside goal – Argentina vs. Mexico, 2010 World Cup

Carlos Tevez (right) scored a fragrantly offside goal for Argentina against Mexico in the 2010 World Cup

Perhaps the most controversial VAR calls this season have been centred around the offside rule, with goals being chalked off seemingly every week due to offsides that have been too close to call. Often, it feels like a player can’t even afford to be a millimetre offside due to the way that the system has been implemented. However, through the years we’ve seen some goals allowed despite blatant offsides, and the 2010 World Cup saw one of the most flagrant.

The round of 16 in the tournament saw Argentina face off with Mexico, and after 26 minutes, La Albiceleste had the ball in the back of the net, striker Carlos Tevez getting his head onto what seemed to be a goalbound effort from Lionel Messi. However, a replay – also shown in the stadium – appeared to confirm that Tevez, who was yards from the goal line, was blatantly offside.

Somehow though, the referee missed the infraction entirely and allowed the goal to stand. The shellshocked Mexicans couldn’t believe the decision, particularly when the replay was visible, and a fracas broke out soon after. Unfortunately, their team couldn’t get back into the game, and Argentina won out 3-1 – with Tevez scoring a second goal later on.

Given that Tevez himself later admitted that he knew he was offside, there can be no doubt that the pedantic VAR system would’ve ruled this goal out – and had it been disallowed, there’s every chance that Mexico could’ve sprung what would’ve been a major upset.