New VAR explanation clarifies Van Dijk's disallowed goal

The first goal for Orange, a header by Virgil van Dijk in the thirteenth minute against Germany, was disallowed by the VAR on Thursday evening, but not for a foul by Brian Brobbey on Marc ter Stegen, as initially thought, by the referee.

New explanation from the DFB

The German football association (DFB) gave a new clarification on Thursday evening after the sports newspaper had asked for clarification. According to the DFB, the reason for the disallowance lay elsewhere than the alleged foul by Brobbey on the goalkeeper. Brobbey was offside at the time of Van Dijk's header and was seen as an active participant.

Van Dijk headed directly from a corner in the thirteenth minute, after which the Spanish referee Alejandro Hernández Hernández was called to the VAR screen. Brian Brobbey was close to Marc ter Stegen and appeared to be hindering the German goalkeeper. The VAR had to assess whether the attacker had an influence on the situation.

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Hernández concluded that Brobbey, despite his position, exerted influence because he was offside and actively participated. Therefore he decided to disallow the strike. A foul on Ter Stegen was thus not the reason for the decision.

The disallowed goal remained a subject of discussion among players and analysts. Germany later took the lead through Felix Nmecha. Cody Gakpo brought Orange back level.

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The match ultimately ended in a 1‑1 draw. Both teams left the field with one point each. The controversy surrounding the VAR decision, however, continued to linger.