Paul Fennessy

IT DIDN’T MATTER in the end.

Caoimhín Kelleher saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty before Rúben Neves headed home to score his first-ever goal at international level and break Irish hearts in the process.

But the spot kick awarded to Portugal on a dramatic night at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon should not be overlooked.

Slovakian official Ivan Kruzliak had a reasonable game up to that point.

In the first half, he rightly waved away a penalty claim when Bruno Fernandes went down all too easily in the box with Jake O’Brien nearby.

That said, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s post-match comments that the referee paid the hosts too much respect were probably fair also — that Ireland received five yellow cards to Portugal’s two felt disproportionate in a game where both sides were guilty of cynical play on several occasions.

But the penalty award in the second half was the one glaring error amid a tense contest.

Replays showed substitute Trincão’s effort clearly struck Dara O’Shea on the chest, even if the defender had his arms in a slightly unnatural position.

O’Shea was also only a few yards away from his opponent when the shot was taken. The ball travelled at such immense speed that the 26-year-old could hardly have been expected to react any other way.

As has been pointed out by many disgruntled viewers, the official was far too quick to point to the spot. He barely had to think about the decision that took most observers multiple replays to form an opinion on.

It was easy to understand why Kruzliak made the wrong decision initially, however. 

Portugal’s appeals were vehement, and it was far from the first instance of an excessively harsh handball decision awarded in the attacking team’s favour.

And the referee, being human, will surely have felt extra pressure having rejected the earlier penalty appeal.

But the most exasperating element from the Irish team’s perspective will have been the failure to overturn the decision with the benefit of having the Video Assistant Referee to call upon.

One of the main complaints in the early days of VAR was the regularity with which it was used to assess and often overturn decisions.

Now, it has gone too far in the other direction.

It’s as if the powers that be have been swayed by social media noise and the relentless complaints of biased fans.

It has gotten to the stage now where it seems officials are doing everything in their power to prevent VAR from overturning decisions.

Part of it is undoubtedly about saving face.

The referees, even when watching from a distance, are prone to a conflict of interest.

They are naturally reluctant to undermine their colleagues by officially declaring they have made an erroneous decision.

The Ireland players and coaching staff weren’t the only ones baffled by this strange call.

In the RTÉ studio, both Shay Given and Dietmar Hamann were hughly critical.

“The penalty decision was an absolute disgrace if you ask me,” the Ireland legend said. “It was never a penalty. We have VAR for a reason — if the ref makes an obvious error, then go to VAR and overrule it.

“He could not blow the whistle quickly enough to give him the penalty. Every decision went their way.”

“It was a scandalous decision,” Hamann added. “There are far too many handballs given anyway, but this is hit from three yards and it hits him in the chest first. I can’t understand why he has given it.

“We have got VAR, but fortunately justice was done.”

The bar has gotten so high for what deserves to be overruled that it has become farcical.

Many pundits and fans have called for the abandonment of VAR, and in some ways, it has been abandoned already.

The game was one of the biggest of the Irish players’ careers, while the outcome could conceivably determine Hallgrímsson’s fate as national team manager.

With those stakes, the Irish squad deserve the highest standards of officiating, which weren’t met on the night.

Even though it proved immaterial, such avoidable flaws in the sport deserve calling out.