Shkendija Aracinovo: VAR review leads to penalty and red card; club representatives entered referees' dressing room
VAR intervened in the 24th minute; a penalty and direct red card were awarded and representatives of Shkendija Aracinovo entered the referees' dressing room and insulted officials.
On October 17, 2026, during the 10th-round First MFL match between FK Shkendija Aracinovo and FK Struga Trim Lum a decisive VAR review took place in the 24th minute that changed the course of the game.
Referee review, penalty and red card
The incident involved Struga's forward wearing number 9, who was illegally impeded by a defender of the home side wearing number 3 while the ball had been played into a clear goalscoring position. The referee initially allowed play to continue despite the evident foul, after which the VAR team opened the VAR protocol and recommended an on-field review (OFR) for a potential penalty and a direct red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO).
Following the on-field review the referee reversed his first decision, awarded a penalty and showed a direct red card to the defending player. The VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game criteria for penalty fouls and DOGSO were fully applied in this case.
Separately, the match report records that representatives and non-official persons connected to the home team, FK Shkendija Aracinovo, entered the referees' dressing room and addressed referees and federation officials with insulting and vulgar language. The Football Federation of North Macedonia and the Refereeing Organization strongly condemned the misconduct and noted the incident was officially documented in the match report. ([ffm.mk](https://www.ffm.mk/en/?utm_source=openai))
The Football Federation of North Macedonia announced that appropriate disciplinary proceedings will be initiated before the competent FFM bodies in response to the incident.
Photo: press material from the event
