Masked fan unplugs referee’s VAR monitor in suspected ‘planned’ protest in Germany

A masked fan unplugged the referee’s video review monitor at a German football game while the referee was deciding on a penalty, in an apparent protest against VAR technology.

The unidentified fan came out of the stands and unplugged the monitor which Felix Bickel was trying to use to decide on a penalty in Sunday’s second-division game between Preußen Münster and Hertha Berlin, Münster said.

TV footage showed a person in white overalls and a ski mask in Münster green climbing back into the home fans’ stand.

It did not stop the decision going against the home team because the video assistant referee, Katrin Rafalski, was able to decide remotely and communicated that decision to Bickel. Hertha’s Fabian Reese scored the penalty, the opening goal of a 2-1 win.

Münster said the club “regrets the incident and will do everything it can to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators and bring them to justice”, and that it would take steps to stop the incident happening again.

“Initial findings indicate that this was a planned action,” Münster said. A photo in German media showed home fans displaying a large banner with a message reading: “Pull the plug on VAR.”

Münster’s captain, Jorrit Hendrix, said he was happy about the incident, though. “It shows how the fans experience things and that they want to do everything to win the game,” he said in comments broadcast by the TV show Sportschau. “If they can do something to influence it, they do that. I completely understand it and think it’s a good thing.”

Since VAR was introduced in Germany in 2017, it has been controversial among fans. Many regard video review delays as an unwelcome interruption to the flow of the game.

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