Overview
- Germany’s record international Lothar Matthäus labeled the current approach "a bit amateurish" and argued VAR should be used consistently across the competition or not at all.
- Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl also backed introducing VAR in the early rounds following this week’s controversies.
- Second-round games saw notable officiating mistakes, including a clearly offside equaliser by Bayern’s Luis Díaz against Köln and disputed decisions in Dortmund’s win at Frankfurt.
- The DFB attributes the limited rollout to cost and venue logistics, with VAR currently starting at the round of 16 and no change announced.
- Former top referee Urs Meier cautioned that reliance on VAR can weaken referees’ instincts and called for improved training to handle matches without video assistance.