Pedro Henriques backs VAR in Ajax v Benfica clash: It doesn't allow... | OneFootball

Pedro Henriques explained that there was nothing the VAR could do regarding Benfica's first goal in the match against Ajax. There was an alleged offside in the play that resulted in the Eagles' corner, but the refereeing expert commented that the protocol was followed correctly.

"Leandro Barreiro is in an offside position, which the assistant does not signal, and immediately in that same play, he ends up winning a corner kick. From the execution of that corner, Benfica's goal is born," Pedro Henriques began to explain. Jorge Faustino also made his analysis of the referee's performance in the match.

The refereeing expert continued: "In other words, if the offside had been signaled, the corner that resulted in Samuel Dahl's goal would not have been awarded and executed. The VAR protocol does not allow intervention, either to invalidate the corner or the goal and restart with an indirect free kick for Leandro Barreiro's offside."

Then, Pedro Henriques made another remark about Benfica's first goal against Ajax: "At the moment of Samuel Dahl's shot, which resulted in a goal, the Greek forward of the Reds, Vangelis Pavlidis, is being played onside by Kenneth Taylor, which validates the goal, removing any discussion about the potential positional offside impacting the opposing goalkeeper, Vitezslav Jaros."

In conclusion, the refereeing expert highlighted an error that harmed Benfica: "The referee did not signal a clear foul committed at the entrance of Ajax's area, when Kenneth Taylor, with both hands, pushed Vangelis Pavlidis, causing the Greek forward to fall off balance inside the area. It should be remembered that infractions are punished at the start of the action, which is why it would not be a penalty kick, but rather a direct free kick."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.