{"id":253016,"date":"2026-07-15T09:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/hours-before-world-cup-semi-final-between-england-and-argentina-fifa-make-major-var-change-amid-controversy-over-decisions\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T09:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:16:53","slug":"hours-before-world-cup-semi-final-between-england-and-argentina-fifa-make-major-var-change-amid-controversy-over-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/15\/hours-before-world-cup-semi-final-between-england-and-argentina-fifa-make-major-var-change-amid-controversy-over-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Hours before World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina, FIFA make major VAR change amid controversy over decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5191935\" data-slug-id=\"2808560\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final between England and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/argentina-football\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Argentina<\/a> in Atlanta tonight (July 15), FIFA has decided to have an on-site VAR team for the marquee clash.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of where each game is being played, the VAR team had been operating from a central hub at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas till now. However, for the aforementioned game, the on-siite officials will serve as a contingency option in case of technical or communication issues.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>FIFA World Cup Organising Committee member Dan Hunt explained why VAR will operate on-site for the second semi-final (as per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportbible.com\/football\/football-news\/fifa-world-cup\/fifa-var-change-world-cup-england-argentina-016439-20260715\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Sport Bible<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of drama that unfolds in these games. And look, when you are asking only four officials to manage what&#8217;s going on on the field, it&#8217;s very difficult on a field that&#8217;s much bigger than an American football field. I&#8217;m glad that there&#8217;s gonna be on-site. I don&#8217;t know what that communication&#8217;s gonna look like.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>FIFA has received much flak for inconsistent VAR calls during the tournament, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/football\/news-argentina-favoured-var-fifa-world-cup-impact-refereeing-interventions-amongst-semi-finalists-revealed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">holders Argentina being the biggest beneficiaris of calls in their favour<\/a> and none against, while England have been at the other end of the spectrum, with a net negative score.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Spain await winner of 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sk-app-thumbnail\" alt=\"France vs Spain: Semi-Final - 2026 FIFA World Cup - Source: Getty\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg\"\/><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-img\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=190 190w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=720 720w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=1045 1045w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=1460 1460w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg 1920w\" alt=\"France vs Spain: Semi-Final - 2026 FIFA World Cup - Source: Getty\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/07\/2e3a8-17841005288648-1920.jpg?w=640\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,&lt;svg%20xmlns=%22http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%201920%201280%22&gt;&lt;\/svg&gt;\"\/><figcaption>France vs Spain: Semi-Final &#8211; 2026 FIFA World Cup &#8211; Source: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/spain-football\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Spain<\/a> became the first team to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup final when they produced a midfield masterclass to end Didier Deschamps&#8217; France&#8217;s hopes of winning a third title.<\/p>\n<p>La Roja scored with both shots on target, with Mikel Oyarzabal opening the scoring in the first half from the spot following Lucas Digne&#8217;s foul on Lamine Yamal before Pedro Porro doubled their advantage after the break.<\/p>\n<p>The 2010 champions now await the winner of the second semi-final between England and Argentina on Sunday (July 19) at New York New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford.<\/p>\n<p>De La Fuente&#8217;s side are looking to become the seventh team to win the World Cup multiple times and the first to complete the European Championship-World Cup double twice, having first achieved it 16 years ago in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina &#8211; riding a record 11-game winning streak in the competition &#8211; are two wins away from becoming the first team in 64 years to successfully defend their title. Meanwhile, England haven&#8217;t been to the title match since their maiden title-winning campaign at home in 1966.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Bhargav<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/football\/news-hours-world-cup-semi-final-england-argentina-fifa-make-major-var-change-amid-controversy-decisions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina in Atlanta tonight (July 15), FIFA has decided to have an on-site VAR team for the marquee clash. Regardless of where each game is being played, the VAR team had been operating from a central hub at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":253017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-253016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}