SEATTLE — On the internet, they call it “the rule of cool.”
The concept is simple. In sports, if a play is cool enough — a poster dunk, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, a one-handed catch straddling the sideline, a bicycle kick pummeled between the posts — its coolness should outweigh everything else. Like whether the tip of a football technically touched the ground. Or whether the left guard held a jersey for a fraction too long. Or whether the goal scorer’s pinkie toe sat microscopically offside.
If it’s cool enough, it stands, reviews be damned.
Sports, after all, are supposed to be fun. We watch to be mesmerized by elite athletes, to feel closer to our communities and the colors we wear. Not to be bombarded by yellow flags and red cards and miles of red tape.
The rule of cool, of course, is more of a joke than a serious suggestion. Sports require both rules and referees. We all know that. Fairness cannot be compromised. You have to get it right.
But in an otherwise incredible FIFA Men’s World Cup, nothing has been less cool than the video assistant referee.
Or VAR, as it’s known to millions of soccer/football/futbòl fans forced to reckon with its incessant replays.
Case in point: Tuesday’s round of 16 slugfest between Argentina (the reigning World Cup champion) and Egypt (which had never won a World Cup match before this tournament). In the 58th minute, Egypt clung to an improbable 1-0 lead, when Egyptian defender Marwan Attia dispossessed Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez. Pinned into his corner, Attia passed to teammate Haissem Hassan, who made mincemeat of Argentina’s midfield. The 174-pound Hassan darted through and around Argentine defenders before successfully locating captain Mo Salah. Salah sent a pass sashaying into the box, where attacker Mostafa Ziko fashioned an emphatic finish.
It was a breathtaking 16-second stampede, an undeterred underdog trampling the status quo. It was a defunct McDonald’s supersized serving of uncut adrenaline, as Ziko tore off his jersey and leapt into a teammate’s arms. It was the very best of what the World Cup can be.
Until, of course, it wasn’t.
Though no foul was called on the field, VAR initiated a review. French referee François Letexier concluded that Attia had stepped on Martinez’s foot, thus negating the entire 16-second frenzy that followed. It didn’t matter that Attia’s foul occurred on the opposite end of the pitch, and Argentina had myriad opportunities to regain possession. It didn’t matter that Egypt was creeping closer to a signature upset in World Cup history, toppling a perennial power and arguably the game’s greatest player (Lionel Messi).
It didn’t matter that, according to ESPN soccer commentator Ian Darke, “The goal would have stood for 150 years prior to VAR.”
Imagine if Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Quake” run — all 67 yards, 16 seconds and nine broken tackles — was erased by a holding penalty that wasn’t called in real time by the referees on the field. From iconic to forgotten, just that fast.
To its credit, Egypt added a second goal in the 67th minute before Argentina resurrected itself with three consecutive strikes in a 3-2 win. Though Egypt’s players and staff appealed for a pair of fouls that preceded Argentina’s 92nd-minute winner, no video review was initiated.
Which may be why, in the aftermath, a distraught Zico declared: “It’s clear that this tournament has been fixed.”
I don’t believe the World Cup has been fixed.
