Bundesliga: Klagenfurt begins with a draw in VAR chaos

VAR technology was used twice at Wörthersee Stadium on Sunday. First, when Mateus Taverner fell into the Klagenfurt penalty area after a duel with Cosmas Gekizus. Despite minor friction, referee Christopher Jagger decided a penalty – and it was not overtaken by the VAR. The scene again sparked discussions about the usefulness of the VAR, as he was only allowed to take corrective action in the event of grossly wrong decisions. Anyway, Michael Lendl took advantage of the penalty kick.

Even more bizarre was the action on the final stage, as Klagenfurt player Maximiliano Moreira tried to demonstrate on the edge of the penalty area. Uruguay got the ball in his hand. First of all, it was checked whether it could be a penalty. After this was rejected, a possible red card check ensued. He appears to have concluded that the offense was sufficient for dismissal.

Pault praises Klagenfurt’s “great morals”

Klagenfurt coach Peter Bacolt was proud of his squad despite or perhaps because of the controversies surrounding VAR: “Big salute to my team. You worked hard for the draw and didn’t let some controversial decisions knock them off the bars.” The fact that they managed to equalize when Outnumbered shows the “great morale” of the team.

The thrust of the Lavanttalers was completely different. Top scorer Lendl spoke of “missing points” after the final whistle. Coach Robin Dutt, who was off the bench for the first time in the Bundesliga, was not satisfied with the equalizer. To us, it feels like a defeat. He risks not ending the match victorious.” But he believes the team still has enough room for improvement, according to the German.