Question Number: 35879

Mechanics 2/3/2026

RE: Adult

christos chazapis of athens, Greece asks...

During the AEK vs Olympiacos match (Feb 1st, 2026), an incident occurred off-the-ball where Daniel Podence appeared to strike Lazaros Rota with a closed fist/excessive force. The referee did not see the incident, but the 4th official reportedly recommended only a yellow card. Given that IFAB Law 12 defines 'Violent Conduct' as an action with excessive force or brutality when not challenging for the ball, shouldn't the VAR (Rob Dieperink) have mandated an On-Field Review for a direct Red Card? Does a 'Yellow Card' recommendation by the 4th official preclude the VAR from intervening for a 'Serious Missed Incident' of this nature? and In the same match, a penalty was awarded via VAR in the 90+16 minute for a challenge by Moukoudi on Andre Luiz. The referee initially waved play on, but was called to the monitor by the VAR. My question regarding the VAR Protocol: For an incident that is subjective and involves minimal contact in a crowded area, does the 'Clear and Obvious Error' threshold change during the final minutes of a derby? Was the intervention consistent with the directive to keep the 'bar high' for VAR interference, or did the VAR overstep by re-refereeing a subjective physical challenge?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Christos
Thanks for the question.
VAR reviews every incident in what is called a silent check.
The original decision given by the referee will not be changed unless the video review clearly shows that the decision was a *clear and obvious error*

In the first incident it is unclear from the video who made the call but let*s say it was the 4th official who alerted the referee to the incident and recommended a caution for the offence.
VAR would have reviewed the footage and if the VAR official was sure it was an error to go with a caution rather than a dismissal the referee would be asked to go to the monitor to make a call. As the officials are miked up the incident would be discussed as to what happened.
From what I saw on the video it looked to me that the Red player flailed his arm across the chest of the Yellow player.
Was excessive force used? There is a high degree of uncertainty here as to the level of force used and with that uncertainty VAR is unlikely to see a caution as a clear error.
Put it another way. If it was a challenge for the ball the sanction would likely be a caution for the arm action. It is not like an elbow to the face, chest.

On the second incident the threshold does not change no matter the time nor the match involved.
From what I saw there was no advantage played by the referee who watched play unfold closely after the incident.
As soon as play was stopped VAR was consulted by the referee that a possible penalty may have occurred. After VAR review the referee was then asked to look at the monitor and made the decision that it was a penalty.
From what I saw the defender made little attempt to play the ball and there was foul contact on the Red attacker.
The *high bar* applies primarily to subjective decisions. Factual decisions (e.g. whether a player is offside or if a foul occurred inside/outside the box) do not require a *clear and obvious* test and are overturned if incorrect, regardless of how small the margin is.
If it is a foul then it is called.
In a high stakes decision such as a penalty near the end of the game the officials are always going to be sure that the correct decision is made. At the Pro level these types of incidents will be scrutinised by match observers and senior group officials in a post match conference.



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