CA Wins at the Expense of a Disrupted Match Marred by VAR Controversies
The Referee Bassem Belaïd was the Black Spot of this Game La Presse — Despite the belief that VAR is used to give each team its due rights, what was witnessed yesterday at Radès by Bassem Belaïd and the VAR refereeing staff is a pure scandal. This has never been seen almost since the introduction of VAR in our championship. Bassem Belaïd, without any exaggeration, is liable for immediate sanction. His catastrophic performance and the manner in which he whistled penalties after reviewing them with VAR are unprecedented and confirm the weakness and small personality of our referees.
Although the CA-USM match was decided on penalties and poorly interpreted episodes by Belaïd and the VAR staff (one could sense the calculations and the desire for the match to end in a draw), CA led 1-0 with an own goal by Zegué in the 42nd minute. In added time, a confusing action unfolded: Gadiaga shot, and Youssef (in yet another distraction) deflected the ball with his hand. However, Belaïd took too much time to whistle, considering a potential offside at the start of the action (according to the images, Gadiaga was slightly advanced). Finally, it was a severe penalty transformed by Harzi (45+3).
A second episode occurred at the 70th minute: Chaouat controlled the ball with his chest, and Dridi rushed to charge him. It took several minutes to decide on the penalty that Belaid had not seen initially. Ali Youssef doubled the score (74'). Then, a third and the most controversial penalty at the 81st minute: Chaouat infiltrated from the left, and Azouz charged and destabilized him; the images were clear. Belaid did not hesitate and awarded the penalty. And suddenly, just as Chaouat was about to shoot, the VAR staff called the referee, who backtracked and rejected the most obvious and clear of the three episodes. To conclude, only 6 minutes of added time were played, whereas more than 10 minutes were spent verifying the two episodes.
What Bassem Belaid did was incredible, as he distorted the match with his late interventions, forgotten cards, and desire to please everyone. As for the match, there is not much to say. CA wanted it, but technically, Benzarti has not brought anything so far. Mahmoud, Cherimi (far from his form), Yefreni, Romdhane, and Ait Malek were the starting changes.
It can be said that the first half was better for the club, with creation and an action at the 22nd minute by Ait Malek, who chose to shoot at the post. USM was stunned and could only play its football after the break. Dridi missed an opportunity at the 58th minute, with a shot that grazed the post.
USM tried to play on the sides, while CA defended and sent the ball back without trying to build. In this match poor in actions, both teams were exhausted and lacking solutions. It can be said that the poor quality of the players on both sides is largely to blame.
CA wins three precious points, but there is much waste in the game and still confusion in the roles, as well as highs and lows in the same match. On the USM side, the team is still under shock, has not weighed heavily, even if Tarek Jaraya can count on a few good individualities.
