Champions League Qualifying Results: VAR Red Card, Extra-Time Drama and Referee Review

The Champions League qualifying results from Tuesday night delivered everything expected from decisive European ties: extra time, late goals, direct red cards, a VAR upgraded dismissal and one particularly important test of the new second-yellow review protocol. Ten third qualifying-round ties were completed on August 11, with Bodø/Glimt and NEC Nijmegen surviving dramatic extra-time contests while Lyon overturned their first-leg deficit against Sparta Prague and Celje eliminated Ararat-Armenia with two goals in the final seven minutes. UEFA confirmed that the winners now advance to the play-off round, the final hurdle before the Champions League league phase.

The complete results were Kairat Almaty 0-1 Levski Sofia (0-2 aggregate), Sabah 4-0 Aarhus (5-2), Kauno Žalgiris 1-2 GNK Dinamo (1-7), Crvena Zvezda 0-2 Hapoel Beer-Sheva (0-3), Slovan Bratislava 2-0 Mjällby (4-1), Celje 2-0 Ararat-Armenia (3-2), Bodø/Glimt 3-2 Union Saint-Gilloise after extra time (6-5), NEC 2-1 Olympiacos after extra time (2-1), Sturm Graz 0-1 Fenerbahçe (0-3) and Lyon 3-0 Sparta Prague (4-2).

Champions League qualifying results dominated by VAR drama in Nijmegen

For referee analysis, NEC Nijmegen against Olympiacos was the standout match of the night. Italian referee Maurizio Mariani was supported by Michael Fabbri as VAR, and the video operation became decisive during a frantic final period. UEFA confirms the all-Italian on-field and video team for the match.

Olympiacos took the lead through Ayoub El Kaabi just 46 seconds into the second half before Bryan Linssen equalised for NEC in the 70th minute. Then came the major refereeing incident. Konstantinos Fortounis fouled Darko Nejašmić in the 77th minute. Two minutes later the match log records a VAR decision to upgrade the card, with Mariani subsequently showing Fortounis a direct red card in the 80th minute. Reporting from AS described the challenge as a studs-up tackle and identified the VAR review as the turning point that left Olympiacos with ten men.

From a protocol perspective, this is exactly the type of intervention VAR was designed for. Potential serious foul play resulting in a direct red card is fully reviewable, and the video official is entitled to recommend an on-field review when replay shows that the referee’s original sanction has clearly underestimated the severity of a challenge. Unlike a marginal question of whether a foul deserves yellow rather than no card, a challenge that endangers an opponent’s safety can cross the clear-and-obvious threshold.

The drama was not finished. NEC appeared to have won the tie in stoppage time when Kaj Sierhuis scored, but VAR intervened again. The goal was overturned after Emre Mor was identified offside in the attacking phase, sending the contest into extra time. Emre Mor then scored the legitimate winner in the 95th minute as NEC completed a 2-1 victory and progressed by the same aggregate score.

The VAR Verdict: the Nijmegen match showed two very different but appropriate uses of video review. Fortounis’ dismissal involved a subjective assessment of serious foul play, requiring referee involvement, while the late offside was essentially factual. Both interventions had major consequences, but neither represented VAR simply searching for marginal contact to re-referee the match.

New second-yellow VAR rule enters the spotlight in Bodø

The wildest tie came in Norway, where Bodø/Glimt beat Union Saint-Gilloise 3-2 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate. Ole Didrik Blomberg put Bodø ahead, Guilherme Smith equalised, Jens Petter Hauge restored the Norwegian lead and Mohammed Fuseini made it 2-2 in the 88th minute. Then the disciplinary drama began.

Romanian elite referee István Kovács controlled the match, with Scotland’s Andrew Dallas operating as VAR and Greg Aitken as AVAR. Union midfielder Kamiel Van de Perre was cautioned in the 81st minute and then received a second yellow for another foul in the sixth minute of stoppage time, meaning Union entered extra time with ten players.

That incident is especially interesting under the 2026/27 VAR protocol. For the first time, a red card caused by a clearly incorrect second yellow can be reviewed. UEFA’s new Clear Line guidance stresses that VAR can cancel a second caution when video clearly proves it should never have been given, but VAR must not intervene simply because the incident is debatable. VAR also cannot invent a missed second yellow that the referee did not show.

The available match record does not show Van de Perre’s dismissal being overturned, so Kovács’ decision stood. That does not automatically prove that the second yellow was unquestionably correct; it means there was no recorded reversal under the new protocol. The important principle is that the new law is designed as a safety net for obviously incorrect dismissals, not an invitation for the VAR to reconsider every tactical or reckless-foul judgement.

Andreas Helmersen eventually headed Bodø/Glimt into the play-offs in the 117th minute. The match ended in further disciplinary chaos, with Sky Sports recording direct red cards for Union’s Raul Florucz and Adem Zorgane at 120+5. Zorgane had already been substituted earlier in the match, while Florucz had entered only minutes before the dismissals. The available event log does not specify the offences, so it would be wrong to speculate about the reasons.

The VAR Verdict: this was perhaps the most important match of the evening from a Laws-of-the-Game perspective. The second-yellow dismissal shows why the expanded VAR protocol matters. A wrong second caution in the 96th minute of a level knockout tie would fundamentally change extra time; at the same time, UEFA must resist allowing the new power to become a general review of every debatable yellow card.

Marciniak red card changes Lyon-Sparta tie

Lyon produced the biggest comeback of the night, beating Sparta Prague 3-0 after losing the first leg 2-1. Ernest Nuamah scored in the 20th minute to level the aggregate score before referee Szymon Marciniak showed Sparta defender Adam Ševínský a direct red card in the 34th minute. UEFA appointed Piotr Lasyk as VAR for Marciniak’s Polish-led team.

AS reported that Ševínský misjudged his duel with Loïs Openda and brought the striker down close to the penalty area as Openda moved toward goal. Marciniak immediately produced the red card. Lyon then exploited the numerical advantage in the second half, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles scoring in the 66th minute and Tyler Morton adding the third six minutes later.

The decisive question for a dismissal of this type is normally whether the foul denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The referee must consider the distance to goal, direction of play, likelihood of the attacker controlling the ball and the position of other defenders. Based on the available match reporting, Openda had broken beyond Ševínský toward goal when he was pulled down, making Marciniak’s decision understandable. There is no VAR reversal recorded in the match log.

It was also another reminder that the biggest refereeing decision does not necessarily require a long monitor review. VAR exists to correct a clear error, not to manufacture one. If the on-field referee has a clear view and makes a supportable direct-red decision, the best VAR intervention can simply be a completed check followed by play continuing.

Olympiacos exit, Red Star see red and Fenerbahçe advance from the spot

There was another direct dismissal in Belgrade. Hapoel Beer-Sheva were already heading through after Igor Zlatanović and Javon East scored in the second half against Crvena Zvezda when Mohamed Abu Fani was shown a straight red card for violent conduct in the 92nd minute. Hapoel won 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. Sky Sports explicitly records violent conduct as the reason for the dismissal.

The late timing meant the red did not materially decide qualification, but disciplinary accuracy still matters. UEFA’s Clear Line guidance defines violent conduct around excessive force or brutality when a player is not genuinely challenging for the ball and says VAR should intervene when footage clearly shows a missed act of violent conduct. It also says video officials should stay out when the evidence is inconclusive.

In Graz, Fenerbahçe completed a comfortable 3-0 aggregate victory over Sturm Graz. The only goal of the second leg came from Talisca’s 66th-minute penalty after Petar Petrović was penalised for fouling him inside the area. Spanish referee Alejandro Hernández awarded the spot kick, with César Soto Grado as VAR. The available match commentary records the foul and penalty but no VAR overturn or prolonged controversy.

That distinction is worth making. Not every penalty in a Champions League qualifier needs to become a VAR controversy. Where the referee identifies a clear foul and video provides no basis for describing the decision as clearly wrong, VAR’s correct role is to stay in the background.

Ararat-Armenia suffer brutal late collapse in Celje

For Ararat-Armenia, the evening ended painfully. The Armenian club arrived in Slovenia defending a 2-1 first-leg advantage and kept the tie under control for more than 80 minutes. Then everything changed in the space of two minutes.

Substitute Yaya Dukuly scored for Celje in the 83rd minute to level the tie on aggregate before Benjamin Verbič struck in the 85th to make it 2-0 on the night and 3-2 overall. Ararat-Armenia went from holding a Champions League play-off place to elimination almost instantly.

Italian referee Marco Guida handled the match with Aleandro Di Paolo as VAR. UEFA’s official appointment confirms a completely Italian officiating team. The game contained several cautions — including two Ararat-Armenia bookings in the 19th minute and further cards in the second half — but the available match log records no decisive VAR overturn around either Celje goal.

From an officiating perspective, this was therefore less controversial than emotionally dramatic. The decisive factor was not a major VAR intervention but Ararat-Armenia’s inability to survive the final phase of the match. That difference matters: referee analysis should not manufacture controversy simply because a defeat was painful.

Michael Oliver has quiet night as Slovan progress

Michael Oliver’s appointment for Slovan Bratislava against Mjällby attracted attention before kick-off because UEFA selected an entirely English six-man team: Oliver, assistants Wade Smith and Blake Antrobus, fourth official Farai Hallam, VAR Michael Salisbury and AVAR Darren England.

The match itself was comparatively straightforward. After a goalless first half, Suleiman Camara scored in the 47th minute and Alasana Yirajang made it 2-0 in the 78th as Slovan progressed 4-1 on aggregate. The match log records three yellow cards but no red card, penalty or VAR overturn.

For referees, that is often the ideal outcome. Oliver entered a knockout second leg with only one goal separating the teams after the first match and left without becoming the central story. High-level officiating should not be judged only by spectacular VAR interventions; maintaining control while avoiding unnecessary video involvement is equally important.

The rest of the Champions League qualifying results

Elsewhere, Levski Sofia completed a 2-0 aggregate victory over Kairat with another 1-0 win, GNK Dinamo finished a dominant 7-1 aggregate success against Kauno Žalgiris, and Sabah produced one of the night’s biggest turnarounds by beating Aarhus 4-0 after losing the first leg 2-1. Sabah scored all four goals after half-time through Veljko Simić, Soufiane Solvet, Joy-Lance Mickels and Xander Severina.

UEFA’s play-off schedule now sends Fenerbahçe against Lyon and NEC against Bodø/Glimt in the league path, while Slovan Bratislava meet Celje and Hapoel Beer-Sheva face Sabah among the champions-path ties. The play-offs will determine the final seven teams entering the 36-club Champions League league phase.

The VAR Verdict

Tuesday’s Champions League qualifying results produced an unusually useful snapshot of modern European refereeing. We saw a direct red upgraded through VAR in NEC-Olympiacos, a factual offside overturn deep into stoppage time, a potentially decisive second-yellow dismissal under the newly expanded VAR protocol in Bodø, a DOGSO-style direct red from Szymon Marciniak in Lyon and a violent-conduct dismissal in Belgrade.

The most significant case was arguably NEC against Olympiacos. Mariani and Fabbri had to use VAR twice for genuinely match-changing situations, and both reviews fit the fundamental purpose of the system: correct a serious potential error, then get out of the way.

Bodø/Glimt against Union SG may prove even more interesting for the season ahead. Van de Perre’s second yellow came only weeks after IFAB expanded VAR to prevent clearly incorrect second-yellow dismissals. UEFA’s own Clear Line guidance is explicit that this new power must remain narrow: VAR can correct an obvious mistake, but it should not substitute its own judgement when the caution remains debatable.

That will be one of the biggest refereeing themes of 2026/27. Football has given VAR more power, but UEFA simultaneously wants less re-refereeing and fewer microscopic interventions. Those two objectives can coexist only if the clear-and-obvious threshold is applied consistently.

Our overall verdict: Tuesday was a strong example of where VAR adds value when it deals with major, identifiable errors rather than marginal football contact. The most important reviews were connected to red cards, offside and genuinely decisive moments. The next challenge is consistency — particularly when second yellow cards now have the potential to enter the video review process for the first time.