European assistant coach frustrated with VAR after heavy home defeat

After a heavy defeat against SLNA, Viettel Army Football Club sharply criticized VAR when assistant coach Popov publicly voiced his dissatisfaction, amid the head coach’s absence due to a ban.

After the 1-4 loss to SLNA in the 13th round of the 2025/26 V-League, the Viettel coaching staff clearly showed their displeasure with the referees’ and VAR’s decisions. With head coach Velizar Popov unable to lead or attend the press conference, assistant coach Nguyễn Văn Biển represented the team and delivered strongly worded remarks.

In a brief but tense statement at the press conference, assistant Nguyễn Văn Biển focused on the most controversial moment of the match involving Lucao’s disallowed goal. He said that VAR intervention caused confusion for both the coaching staff and Viettel players.

“The referee spent a long time reviewing VAR for Lucao’s offside call, but from what we observed, the opposing defender was at least two meters behind. We truly do not understand why that goal was disallowed,”said assistant Nguyễn Văn Biển.

Not only did he disagree with the technical decision, but the assistant to coach Popov also believed such critical moments directly affected Viettel players’ morale. He explained that repeatedly having goals disallowed after lengthy VAR checks left the team feeling disappointed and frustrated.

Notably, after making his statement, assistant Nguyễn Văn Biển quickly left the press room before reporters could ask further questions. This action reflected the high tension within Viettel’s coaching staff following the disputed match.

In this match, head coach Velizar Popov was unable to lead from the sidelines due to receiving three yellow cards in previous rounds. This sanction forced the Bulgarian strategist to watch the game from the stands and made him ineligible to attend the post-match press conference as per regulations.

The absence of coach Popov in the technical area was considered a significant disadvantage for Viettel, especially as the team struggled with tactics and mindset. After the heavy defeat, the strong reactions from the coaching staff showed that Viettel remains unsettled by VAR decisions, sparking further debate about refereeing standards in this V-League season.