To say that VAR has had some teething issues would be an understatement.
Widely ridiculed during the Confederations Cup, the Video Assistant Referee system will be used in some of Europe's major leagues this season.
Saturday's Dutch Super Cup game ended in a 1-1 draw between Feyenoord and Vitesse Arnhem in Rotterdam. Feyenoord would win the Johan Cruyff Shield after a 4-2 penalty shootout win.
Despite the 1-1 draw, the game will be best remembered for the farcical use of VAR in the second-half that briefly saw Feyenoord take a 2-0 lead.
Vitesse's Tim Matavz was taken down in the Feyenoord box by their captain Karim El Ahmadi. No penalty was given by referee Danny Makkelie and the Dutch champions went on the break.
20 seconds after the Vitesse striker Matavz was tackled in the box, Feyenoord's Nicolai Jorgensen scored in a well-worked counter-attack for a 2-0 lead.
👁 | Uniek staaltje video-arbitrage in De Kuip. Geen 2-0, maar 1-1. #feyvit pic.twitter.com/vnXUgpdQFU
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) August 5, 2017
Despite Jorgensen's goal, the referee went to the VAR system to see if Matavz was fouled in the box. On front of a passionate Feyenoord crowd in De Kuip, Makkelie spent well over 40 seconds watching the incident before giving Vitesse the penalty.
El Ahmadi was given a yellow card for the foul, with former Manchester United defender Alexander Buttner scoring the penalty.
From Matavz's foul to the penalty being given took almost two-and-a-half minutes. VAR was introduced to provide clarity to key decisions, but the process will need to be improved upon.
