Refereeing controversy: Tantashev suspended for awarding unjust penalty despite VAR warning

An official conclusion has been reached regarding the sensational refereeing decisions in one of the central matches of the Uzbekistan Super League. On October 20, a special analytical meeting was held via the Zoom platform, involving representatives from the Uzbekistan Football Referees Center (UFRC), the Professional Football League (PFL), and Pakhtakor Football Club.

During the meeting, serious objections raised by Pakhtakor FC were reviewed, and a series of gross errors by FIFA referee Ilgiz Tantashev that directly impacted the match result were officially confirmed.

Tantashev's main mistakes: Penalty rejected by VAR and unissued red card

The controversial situations were thoroughly analyzed by the new head of the UFRC, Farhod Abdullayev, and decisions were reached on the following key points:

• Unjust penalty awarded against VAR objection: In the most critical situation, it was admitted that an 11-meter penalty kick was incorrectly assigned to Pakhtakor's goal. Although VAR referee Firdavs Norsafarov insisted the situation was not a penalty, Ilgiz Tantashev personally reviewed the video replay on the monitor and stubbornly stuck with his erroneous decision;

  Vanya Ilich should have been sent off earlier: Early in the match, Vanya Ilich should have received a yellow card for a rough challenge on his opponent Doston Hamdamov. Consequently, the warning shown in the 58th minute should have become the player's second yellow card, resulting in his dismissal from the pitch (while Pakhtakor was leading 1-0);

• Hamraliyev's elbow incident: In the second half, Muhammadqodir Hamraliyev's challenge with his elbowing against Abdurauf Boriev was assessed as a foul that, while perhaps not warranting a red card, definitely deserved a yellow card.

What punishment will be applied to the FIFA referee?

According to the press service of Pakhtakor FC, a direct question was raised regarding the future fate of the referee who made unjust decisions during the match:

“To the question of what measures will be taken against him, the UFRC representatives replied: ‘You will not see him on the pitch anytime soon’,” the club's official statement reads.

This decision represents a strict punitive measure by the Uzbekistan Football Referees Center aimed at increasing the quality and transparency of refereeing, meaning that Ilgiz Tantashev has been suspended from officiating official matches for an indefinite period.