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What happened?
The Brazilian Football Confederation has lodged a formal complaint with the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) against the cancellation of Vinicius Junior’s goal against Scotland in the two teams’ 2026 World Cup match, calling the decision “unfair” and contrary to the refereeing approach followed in the tournament.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, which obtained an exclusive copy of the letter, the Brazilian federation expressed its displeasure with the play of Mexican referee Cesar Ramos and the intervention of the video assistant referee (VAR) technology in the goal that would have completed Vinicius’ hat-trick, stating that “the incident misrepresented the tournament.”
Vinicius took the ball from Scotland defender Hendrick in the 22nd minute to score Brazil’s second goal, before the video referee intervened and asked for a review of the shot, so the referee decided to disallow the goal due to an earlier error by the Brazilian forward.
Television replays showed slight contact between the players, but the Brazilian federation deemed the decision “excessive” and cited similar cases where goals were disallowed.
VAR didn’t step in to analyze that tackle, possible red card…but did last night so referee Ramos could “analyze” the possible foul here and disallow Vinicius’ goal. The defender and Scotland did not even complain. Vinny Jr. could have walked away with 3 goals and that would have been 5. pic.twitter.com/d0iUnpZaUg
— Jose Luis Napoles (@joselnapoles) June 25, 2026
The text of the letter addressed to FIFA said: “One of the aspects that caught our attention during the tournament was the approach of the video assistant referee, as it seemed clear that the focus was on respecting the referee’s commentary on the pitch and limiting interference to clear and obvious fouls. We believe this philosophy benefits football and preserves the referee’s reputation.”
The letter added that “several incidents during the tournament were consistent with this approach, including a possible foul before Argentina’s goal against Austria, a possible penalty kick between England and Ghana in the 78th minute and another incident between Senegal and France in the 58th minute.”
At the end of its letter, the Brazilian federation emphasized that it “fully respects the decision-making process and does not discuss the technical interpretation of the situation, but insists that the same standards apply in all matches and for all participating teams.”
Brazil also directly criticized referee Cesar Ramos, saying “his record for Brazil is not the best”, recalling that he officiated the 2018 World Cup match between Brazil and Switzerland when he scored an equalizer despite a flagrant foul on a Seleção defender.
“It is clear that doubts will be raised when the same referee intervenes again in a crucial decision affecting Brazil at another World Cup.”
