Mobile phone vs VAR: Serbian referee banned for life
Serbian referee who hilariously used footage on a fan’s mobile phone to overturn an offside decision has been banned for life, according to reports.
Stefan Lazovic went viral after pictures emerged of his budget ‘VAR check’ in one of Serbia’s lower-tier competitions earlier this week.
The match official originally ruled out a goal for offside before studying the spectator’s video, eventually deciding that the player was in fact onside.
According to the Sun, Serbian chiefs were not impressed by the decision and have since stripped Lazovic of his duties.
Lazovic’s alleged dismissal sparked outrage on social media, as fans stood in support of the referee.
Ex-Manchester United and Chelsea star Nemanja Matic commented on an Instagram post supporting Lazovic with a two raised hands emoji.
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The original comment written by ftbl.serbia read: ‘Support for Stefan Lazovic! Why should only he suffer, why such a rigorous sentence, why a lifetime ban from trial?
‘How could the match be allowed to be played without one assistant referee?! Who is responsible here? Why does Stefan’s spear break?
‘At the end of the day, the fact that he watched the video and changed the decision, just shows that he wanted everything to be FAIR!