I am not fond of this VAR at all. Soon, we'll be going the way of American football: 4 hour long games with 6 minutes of action.
Obviously I am disappointed in the loss. Norway are playing some good football - they are getting better. Nice mix today of defense and offense. The ladies should be encouraged going forward. They should be proud of their performance. Tough but exciting atmosphere in Nice and a lot of people got to see them compete well. This current France is not a bad team to lose too (if you have to lose). Very curious to see how far Norway might progress. One note: I would've liked Utland to start for this game.
FIFA official highlights of the game (at the beginning of the video, look at the awstruck faces of the children who are hand in hand with Renard and Torrent while they walk on the pitch! ):
Saevik did a good job on the day. Norway played well overall. The VAR penalty call is very puzzling. It is the second time a player is penalised for a follow through from a clearance. No doubt studs were high and dangerous, but on the biomechanical side, if you hit the ball, you cannot stop your foot from following through without damaging your own leg...
We saw exactly what Steinhaus saw on the monitor the whole time and it was one single view and a short segment of it. Whereas we as viewers saw it from at least five different camera angles. If those views are all available, why was Steinhaus only provided one? Leads one to believe the decision was not made by her but by a guy in the control room. If the decision was to be hers she would/should have been provided all five views. Otherwise, the home viewer is far more versed in the play than the referee making the call, which would be quite absurd.
I thought Norway was solid but never dangerous. France needed this kind of gritty victory. They’ve been often criticized for lack of character in big games. Even with so many teams going through, a game against a top team like Norway is a big game. I can see why people didn’t like the penalty. Some times the calls go for you and sometimes against. Still have to bury the PK and keep Norway at bay. The Norwegians seemed to be out of gas at the end. It’s a good win.
Great news AGAIN for French TV ratings! After setting a record high 11 millions viewers (equivalent to 55.5 million viewers in the US - relative to population) last week against South Korea, the second game of France saw 10.3 millions people (equivalent to 51.8M US) watching the game against Norway. These numbers are unprecedented, record setting & incredible for Women's football. By comparison, the day before, the World Champions men's team had a game against Andorra in a qualifier for the next Euro, the ratings were a "mere" 5 millions viewers. Half that of the women!
The referee is provided with what the VAR considers the best view of the "clear and obvious error," but the referee can also ask for different points of view, if needed. Maybe the one view was enough for her, and was all she asked for.