Chapter 860: VAR Taking Over the Chaos?!

Of course, Stambouli would never know what Higo meant at that moment. No, even if he knew, the man wouldn’t be able to react, especially since the time between the shout and Jude Bellingham taking action was just two seconds, not enough for the man to process everything first.

In the end, though, what everyone feared finally happened.

Once Bellingham managed to enter the penalty box, he whacked the ball as hard as he could, and as a result...

BAM!

The ball hit Stambouli quite hard, and in the next second...

FWEEE!

The whistle from the referee followed instantly, making all the heads snap at him. In the next second, the man pointed at the white spot inside the penalty box, announcing his decision.

"Handball from Schalke’s number 2, Benjamin Stambouli! On-site decision! A penalty kick for Borussia Dortmund!"

Silence followed for a moment as everyone seemed to try to comprehend what was going on here. After all, everything happened so fast that it took a moment for their brain to catch up to the situation on the pitch. However, once everything finally sank in...

"No! No! Ref! That’s not my hand!" Stambouli rushed in panic. "That is my stomach! It hit my stomach! My hands are completely on the back, and those aren’t active as well! You made a mistake!"

Omar Mascarell grabbed the man by the collar immediately, taking over the role of complaining as the team’s captain. "Ref, you couldn’t even see him from your spot, so why are you deciding it so hastily?! Do you really want to go viral or what?!"

His tone might be harsh, but the Spaniard was also shielding the referee from getting swarmed by the other Schalke players. This move went unnoticed by the referee, enough to make his gaze soften toward the captain. However, that didn’t mean he would back down from his decision.

"I might not be at the best position to witness it, but I can clearly see his hand is active, and the ball bounces on the spot slightly on the right side of his body. If not hitting the hand, I don’t know if the ball would be like that, and that’s why I decide that it is a penalty."

If before, probably in the last season, something like this happened, Omar Mascarell would only swallow all of his anger and dissatisfaction, knowing that nothing could change the referee’s stubborn mind. However, this time, everything was different.

No, the stadium had the VAR on the sideline, enough to allow the referee to overturn his own decision. That was why, as long as the pressure was enough, he was so sure that everything would be reconsidered, and this could be a dangerous pit hole that they had just escaped.

"Your argument might be logical, but you only saw the effect of your assumption, not the ball hitting his hand directly. We have a technology to confirm that, so why don’t we try checking it out first?" Suggested the captain to the referee.

The man hesitated first, and seeing that expression, Omar Mascarell clenched his fists secretly, knowing that he was half a step away from convincing the referee to check the VAR. Of course, Dortmund’s players would also see this, and they couldn’t help but complain.

"No, why is your referee always using the VAR? Before, you would always trust your instinct, right?! The moment we got an advantage, why the hell would you suddenly use technology?! That is fucking unfair!" Someone pointed out.

"Yeah! You cannot just pick a side and jump on someone’s boat so easily like that!" The others followed.

It was clear that at this point, some players started to panic, realizing that the decision could be overturned. Even Jude Bellingham himself had both hands on his waist while looking up at the sky, unsure what would happen next. Inwardly, the English teenager felt pity, looking at the commotion inside the penalty box with his tongue clicking in annoyance.

"Tch! If only I shot it myself..." He murmured inwardly.

Meanwhile, the commotion got bigger in the penalty box. However, it wouldn’t be Omar Mascarell if he lost an argument.

"Why are you trying to deny it?! This is our right to request using VAR, you know?!" He asked the opposing players incredulously. "Or... Do you think that you are guilty enough, and hiding the VAR would only make you get exposed?" He narrowed his eyes, throwing a dangerous accusation here.

"W—wait, w—what?! Of course, NO!" Someone with the yellow jersey stuttered a little bit, not expecting to get shot by Omar so easily like that. "The penalty is ours, though! You are just trying to use a psychological mind game, right? Wanting to tilt us before we score?!" He pointed at the captain straight away.

Higo himself just stood on the sideline helplessly, waiting for the final decision to be made. Still, it would be a lie if he said that he had something in mind to help the team right now, as he sighed helplessly while also playing around with the grass on the ground.

"Three fucking penalties in five games?! How could we be so unlucky?!" He moaned, feeling like he was about to cry.

While the boy was good at penalty stopping, that didn’t mean he enjoyed the feeling of getting executed alone in the penalty box. It also didn’t help that the last two goals he conceded all came from the penalty scenario, and it would be a lie if Higo said that it didn’t bother him.

"Eh, don’t be so depressed like that, Ryusuke." Morita suddenly came to his side, taking the bottle of water that Higo had prepared behind the goalpost. "Anyway, just look at that. The decision is about to be made."

Well, when Higo turned around, it was true that the referee had already rushed to the sideline to check on the VAR system. The next few minutes became so tense as a heavy silence followed on the pitch, as some people even prayed that nothing would go wrong for their favorite teams.

After a period of waiting that felt like an eternity, though, the referee finally came out of the sideline, signalling something quickly before shaking both hands decisively. At this point, Higo’s face lit up in a heartbeat, knowing that the decision was in his favor.

"With the VAR Assistance, the replay showed that Benjamin Stambouli didn’t touch the ball, but the left side of his stomach! As a result, the earlier decision is canceled! A corner kick for Borussia Dortmund!"