VAR wins backing of Ramos and Courtois after controversial Tagliafico call

VAR was used to rule out an Ajax goal against Real Madrid, something Sergio Ramos and Thibaut Courtois felt was the right decision.

Published : Feb 14, 2019 08:56 IST

Referee Damir Skomina gestures after disallowing an Ajax goal against Real Madrid after a VAR check.
Referee Damir Skomina gestures after disallowing an Ajax goal against Real Madrid after a VAR check.
lightbox-info

Referee Damir Skomina gestures after disallowing an Ajax goal against Real Madrid after a VAR check.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois each praised the use of VAR in Madrid's controversial 2-1 win over Ajax on Wednesday. 

The host was the stronger side in the first half of the Champions League last-16 first leg at Johan Cruijff Arena and thought it had gone ahead when Nicolas Tagliafico headed in a rebound after a Courtois error. 

However, VAR was used to overturn a goal decision for the first time in the competition's history after referee Damir Skomina checked the touchline television monitor. 

UEFA later tweeted to confirm the goal was ruled out because Dusan Tadic was in an offside position and impeding Courtois when Tagliafico scored.

READ: Ajax 1 Real Madrid 2: Asensio strikes late after VAR controversy

Ramos welcomed VAR's intervention and said, "I'm an advocate of VAR. Little by little, football will be more fair. Sometimes it has been harmful to us, and today it ruled out an important goal."

When asked if the decision was correct, Courtois said, "I think so. When it happened, I thought it could be offside. When the guy headed it, I wanted to go and catch it. 

"Because of his [Tadic's] intention, I made a quick movement. It's lucky there was VAR because nobody would have seen it." 

Madrid went ahead through Karim Benzema and, although Hakim Ziyech equalised, they secured a first-leg advantage through Marco Asensio's close-range finish in the 87th minute. 

Ramos was impressed by Ajax's high-pressing approach and revealed Madrid switched their tactics in the second half to gain a foothold in the match. 

"Amazing atmosphere. I congratulate the fans and this team, who play very good football and with a lot of personality," he said. 

"We were together, and we took advantage of the counter-attacks. We got two away goals. You have to know how to read games and we did that. 

"They pressed very high and did not give you time to receive the ball from the back. We changed to look for balls into space and to break the lines." 

Ramos was also proud to play in his 600th match in all competitions for Madrid, adding: "It's not easy to reach 600 games for my club. I hope there will be many more and every day I get up excited to represent the team as captain."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment