Sturm coach Ilzer questioned the video referee: “Do we need the VAR?”

“LASK is the deserved winner,” said Sturm Graz coach Christian Ilzer after the 3-1 defeat in Linz. He was annoyed that his team didn’t do enough to counteract the energy of the athletes – and with the performance of the referee team.

“Do we need VAR?” he asked provocatively after the final whistle. It was about two scenes: When Robert Zulj missed the penalty for LASK before the break, Filip Stojkovic touched the ball with his elbow before Amadou Dante’s foul – video referee Gerhard Grobelnik still confirmed the penalty. In the second half, Stojkovic wrestled Jon Gorenc Stankovic down in the penalty area, Grobelnik checked but didn’t see any clear wrong decision. “A clear foul,” said Ilzer. “We all saw it on the scoreboard.”

Spontaneous joy stolen

Ilzer remembered the cup round of 16 against GAK (3:2) without a video referee: “That was nice, even though a hand goal was given against us.” LASK coach Thomas Sageder is “fundamentally a supporter of VAR”, even if it robbed him of the spontaneous joy after a goal: “I always look back at my assistants on the bench to see whether something was wrong in the making.” Only when Zulj made it 3-1 did he immediately run to the cheering grape: “That’s when I knew it was right.”