Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive goal in the semi-final between Germany and Portugal (1-2) for the UEFA Nations League, but doubts about a possible offside unleashed the controversy. The goal provoked protests after the elimination of the German team this Tuesday in Munich.
Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Germany: controversy over the semi-automatic VAR
The semi-final between Portugal and Germany played on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena has been marked by a play that could change the narrative of the tournament. In the 68th minute, with the score 1-1, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the goal that would give his team the qualification. The goal, however, was reviewed by the semi-automatic VAR after suspicions of offside, but was finally validated.
According to television images, CR7 seems ahead of the ball at the time of the pass from Nuno Mendes, who previously combined with Bruno Fernandes on the left side. In the VAR animation, the position of the Portuguese forward did not show a clear advantage, although fans and experts pointed out notable differences between the frozen image and the real posture of the player.
Germany eliminated and criticism of the arbitration system
With this action, Cristiano Ronaldo reached 138 goals in 220 international matches and Portugal reached the final of the UEFA Nations League. The German Football Federation has not issued a formal complaint, but German media such as Kicker and Bild expressed doubts about the transparency and reliability of the semi-automatic system used by UEFA.
The controversy has rekindled the debate about technology in football. While the European body defends the accuracy of the semi-automatic VAR, what happened in Munich shows that not even artificial intelligence can silence the eternal dispute over offside. In this case, the millimetric line and the VAR favored Cristiano, but left Germany out of a final that seemed within their reach.