A football fan goes viral after finding an ingenious way to create his own VAR at a World Cup game… but gets roasted over his choice of phone
A football fan has been branded for his phone brand after publishing an ingenious way to find a homemade VAR for World Cup matches.
In Brazil’s 2-0 win over Serbia, a fan took the lead himself and built a homemade video assistant referee (VAR).
Video reposted on TikTok by Bestoffootball shows a Qatari man pulling out high-quality binoculars.
He then turns on his cell phone camera and focuses the lens behind the binoculars eyepiece, allowing for additional zoom capabilities.
The spectator starts taking pictures behind the binoculars zoom and inspects an offside message in the device from the comfort of their seat.
“Let us introduce you… The real VAR,” read the caption.
The original video has garnered over 24 million views with 1 million likes, but it was the outrage from the comments that sparked the discussion.
TikTok users berated the Qatari viewer for using an iPhone and high-powered binoculars – saying he could just buy a Samsung 22 Ultra
TikTok viewers were horrified by the fan’s phone choice, who allegedly could ditch the binoculars with the purchase of a Samsung S22 Ultra.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra offers telescope-like zoom quality at 100x optics, perfect from the distant seats of a stadium.
“I feel so bad for iPhone users,” one user commented.
“It’s okay man I get it… just buy a S22 Ultra man,” wrote another.
FIFA has used VAR technology at a World Cup for the second consecutive year to help referees make quick decisions before making controversial offside assessments.
The system uses automated line drawing and virtual reality replays, while players are tracked on the field by 12 cameras in 4K quality.
Fans await a VAR check during the Poland vs Saudi Arabia game on November 26 at Education City Stadium
FIFA chief technology officer Sebastian Runge said data points will be translated into animations that can determine the precise location of players.
Three minutes into the first game of World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Ecuador captain Enner Valencia celebrated after firing a header into the open goal.
Minutes under VAR review, however, what was believed to be the first goal of the tournament was ruled out for offside, which was difficult to see with the naked eye.
Many fans poked fun at the system for picking up on strict legality, but die-hards respected the call in what was the correct verdict.
After the game, the FIFA animation of the offside situation was released, giving the fans a glimpse of the high-tech system in the game.
