Brazil booked their place in the World Cup knockout stage after finishing top of Group C with an impressive victory over Scotland.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side continued their strong tournament form and looked every bit like one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
Despite the convincing result, the final whistle did not bring an end to the controversy.
Instead, attention quickly shifted away from the scoreline as Brazil questioned one of the biggest officiating decisions of the tournament.
The Brazilian Football Confederation believes a crucial refereeing call contradicted the approach VAR has adopted throughout the World Cup.
Rather than focusing solely on one incident, the federation has argued that the lack of consistency is becoming a wider concern.
According to Estadao (via the Daily Mirror), Brazil have now submitted an official complaint to FIFA after Vinicius Junior’s first-half goal against Scotland was ruled out following a VAR review.
The CBF stated that VAR had generally respected on-field decisions throughout the tournament by only intervening when a clear and obvious error occurred.
However, Brazil argued that Vinicius’ disallowed goal did not fit that philosophy. They claimed even Scotland’s players appeared surprised by the review.
To strengthen their argument, Brazil referenced Lionel Messi‘s opening goal against Austria earlier in the tournament. Alexis Mac Allister challenged Xavier Schlager before Messi scored.
Austria appealed for a foul, but the goal stood after VAR declined to intervene. Brazil believe the incident closely resembled the challenge involving Vinicius against Scotland.
The CBF therefore argued that if Messi’s goal was allowed to stand, then Vinicius’ effort should also have counted. Brazil also questioned FIFA’s decision to appoint referee Cesar Arturo Ramos for the Scotland match.
The federation lodged a complaint about the Mexican official following Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland at the 2018 World Cup. Ancelotti’s side will face Japan in the last 32.
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