FFM admits VAR error — Shkendija goal in Kratovo wrongly ruled out
FFM says VAR lines were drawn incorrectly and VAR officials will be sanctioned after a full review.
The Football Federation of North Macedonia (FFM) acknowledged a mistake by VAR officials that led to the disallowing of a legitimate Shkendija Tetovo goal during the First League match against Sileks in Kratovo. The federation published its statement on 28.08.2026 19:30 after reviewing the incident from the first half.
In the FFM release they stated: "A regular goal by FC Shkëndija Tetovo was disallowed at 0:0 in the 37th minute of the match."
The federation’s explanation says the Shkendija forward was in an onside position at the moment his teammate played the pass. The first assistant referee followed VAR protocol and initially allowed the action to continue, but then incorrectly signalled offside.
What went wrong in the VAR check
According to the FFM account, VAR intervened and began the standard procedure of drawing offside lines because the call was tight. During that line-drawing process the officials completed the operation incorrectly and failed to register that the last part of the attacker’s body was not ahead of the second-to-last defender. That error led to the goal being overturned.
The federation described the situation as difficult to accept given the experience of the international referee involved, but also noted that human mistakes remain part of football. FFM said the incident will be part of the round’s full review by the Referees’ Committee.
As a result of the incorrect completion of the offside-line procedure, the VAR referees will face sanctions under the Referees’ Regulations after the Referees’ Committee finishes its analysis of the current round, the federation added.
Photo: press material from the event
