Referee Hyeon-Jeong Oh announced the wrong decision in Spain’s victory over Zambia, leading to loud boos inside the stadium as she changed her mind
Referee Hyeon-Jeong Oh initially announced the wrong decision in Spain’s victory over Zambia
A Women’s World Cup referee sparked confusion after announcing the wrong VAR decision in Spain’s victory over Zambia, before correcting herself seconds later.
Spain turned in an impressive display at Eden Park, taking the lead inside nine minutes through Teresa Abelleira. Jennifer Hermoso quickly made it two, however the CF Pachuca striker found herself caught up in one the game’s more contentious moments in the second half.
Hermoso had the ball in the back of the net again in the 70th minute, however the flag was swiftly raised for offside. After a lengthy VAR check, referee Hyeon-Jeong Oh seemed to suggest she was sticking with the original decision, before backtracking on her announcement.
There were loud boos inside the stadium as she appeared to say “no goal!”, before adding: “No, wait… no offside - Goal!”
Hermoso and her teammates looked perplexed at the announcement, before eventually wheeling away to celebrate. Spain eventually won the game 5-0, meaning the World Cup dream is now over for debutants Zambia.
History was made in last week’s World Cup opener between New Zealand and Norway when referee Yoshimi Yamashita explained a video assistant referee (VAR) review to spectators. Yamashita gave a penalty to New Zealand following a VAR review after the ball was handled in the box.
It was the first time a VAR decision had been explained to supporters at a senior international competition, with FIFA trialing the approach at this summer’s tournament. It was also trialed at the Men’s Club World Cup and the Men’s U20 World Cup earlier this year.
The trial has so far gone down well, with Ian Wright giving it the thumbs up. The Arsenal legend, who watched the opening game at Eden Park, said in a social media video: “I like the way the referee done that!” He added in the caption: “That new VAR business was good.”
