VAR was supposed to take the messy human element out of refereeing. How did it go so wrong?

GettyImage Anadolu / Getty Images Many of world football’s brightest names took the field over the weekend, as the quarter finals of the FIFA men’s World Cup played out. But for many fans, the heroics of the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were overshadowed by the actions of a surprising character: the referee. Two contentious decisions marred England’s 2–1 win over Norway: one that disallowed a Norwegian goal due to an earlier foul, and another that allowed an English…