2026-05-30 09:33:21
Sol Campbell is a big fan of VAR – but with limitations.
The former Arsenal and England player backs the use of pitchside technology because he still feels aggrieved at having “two legitimate goals” he scored for his country disallowed by officials, and thinks the outcome would have been different if video assistance was available at the time.
He told The Guardian newspaper: “With England I got two legitimate goals taken away from me at the [1998] World Cup and then at the [2004] Euros. If we’d had VAR back then the referee would have found it really hard to wriggle out of it, especially against Argentina.
“It was ridiculous. Same for the next one against Portugal. Come on. They’ve taken two goals away from me. One would have put us into the semi-finals of the Euros and the other could have put us into a World Cup quarter-final.”
Asked if that means he is a fan of VAR, he replied: “Yes. VAR for around the box is great.
“If you have to go to two or three spaces back then I don’t think so. It should just be used for both boxes.”
The 51-year-old ex-footballer played six major tournaments for England, including the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and looking to this year’s competition he praised manager Thomas Tuchel for making bold decisions, but doesn’t think they can go all the way.
He said: “He’s made some interesting cuts to the final squad. That’s what England wanted – a manager ready to wield the axe. Whether you agree with the axings is different.
“I feel you’ve got to have someone a little bit outside the box. If you can handle one or two mavericks, I like that.
“I grew up with that – look at how Terry Venables could handle Paul Gascoigne and get the best out of him. I always like a mix.
“I like good solid players, but I like mavericks, match-winners who can come on for 10 minutes and do it. We need to remember that this is a cup competition.”
Asked how he thinks England will fare, he replied: “I think we’ll hit the semi-finals.”
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