UEFA Euro U-21 2023: VAR to be introduced in knockout stage

Italy vs France match saw the referee making some controversial decision

VAR will be used starting in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Euro U-21 2023 championship. It follows a spate of mistakes made by Italy in their 2-1 loss to the French U-21 side.

The most frightening moment came when Castello Lukeba of France looked to take the ball away with his hand after Raoul Bellanova's last-second header crossed the line, but no penalty was given despite Italy's cries for justice.

In the initial stages of the game, before France's second goal, a foul was additionally missed. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, UEFA made the revisions in response to the officiating errors.

'The impression I got is that by removing the VAR from referees who were used to using it, now even the referees themselves do not make decisions quickly, and are no longer used to paying attention to certain things because they were often resolved by the VAR.'

'I don't expect the referee's apologies,' said Paolo Nicolato, Italy's manager, to Sky Sport Italia after the game. I don't even believe he owes us one. He will be the first to acknowledge his error.

Arnaud Kalimuendo of Rennes and Bradley Barcola of Lyon were sufficient to give their side a victory.

Romania's Cluj Arena hosted the match last night. This year, VAR was used for the first time in the Romanian league.

Some people may not believe that the rivalry in Romania and Georgia's quarterfinals is close enough. Additionally, there are still 16 games left before the quarterfinals, with two for each side.