Italy received a red card – but VAR changed the verdict.
Then Jonas Eriksson collapsed.
– It is insensitive and unprofessional, says the SVT expert.
Sweden won 1-1 in the European Championship premiere against the Netherlands, and afterwards the Swedish players were self-critical. It was said that they did not reach the highest capacity at all, and that there is much to improve in the future. But if there was one team that impressed in the premiere, it was France.
Eriksson’s anger
In their premiere against Italy, they played out the entire register, and already in the half the match was largely decided, after a hat trick from Grace Geyoro. France became the first team in European Championship history to score five goals in the first half, and in the second half it only looked to get worse for Italy.
Team captain Sara Gama placed the dice high on the above-mentioned Geyoro, after which the referee took out the red card. But after the decision was VAR-reviewed, the verdict was changed to a yellow. It made the former top judge, and now SVT expert Jonas Eriksson, look red.
“A clear expulsion”
He says he is “incredibly surprised”, and also calls it all “insensitive and unprofessional”.
– It is a clear expulsion. Is Gama endangering the opponent’s safety? Yes. Every time of the week, says Eriksson in SVT’s broadcast.
Chris Kavanagh was the assistant video judge, the person who made the decision. Now Eriksson guesses that he has finished judging for the tournament.
– My guess is that Chris Kavanagh (assistant video referee) will not get many more matches in the tournament. Because this was completely wrong.
See the situation here (External link to SVT)
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