Complaints about the Video Assistant Referee overshadowed the first weekend of play in the German Bundesliga.
The VAR was invoked at key points, leading to decisions that worked against Hoffenheim in its 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich and against Schalke in its 2-1 loss to Wolfsburg. Afterwards, Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann said the VAR review was “a stupid period of video watching,” and Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel said the system was in “shambles.”
Though the use of VAR was widely hailed as a success at this summer’s World Cup, Bundesliga had technical issues on multiple occasions in its first season with the technology last year.