The UEFA for years now has restricted football from modern day technology because they are scared that the more they add the more people will be driven away. So whilst sports like cricket and rugby advance and improve because when a decision is questioned a real answer can be found within 2 minutes, Football has been left behind to rely on the decisions of one human being’s instincts to what they thought they saw happened or how they interpreted the situation. But know they are looking to bring football into the modern era with the introduction of VAR that will help make decisions on Goals, Cards or Offside but this is going to cause many more problems than it will solve.
In the confederations cup early this year VAR was trailed for the first time and honestly to me it looked like an unmitigated disaster. The example that I remember was in a match between Cameroon and Chile (I think) There was a tackle in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Instantly all the players an to the ref in protest and saying “look on the replay” so the ref eventually pointed to the VAR and put his hand to his ear he waited and waited and waited and eventually he changed the decision to no penalty! This was followed by more protest! The players who thought they had a penalty know didn’t so the ref then stopped the game went to the side-lines and watched the replay himself and then gave the penalty!
It was one of the most ridiculous moments in professional football I have ever seen but this is what we have to expect will happen when VAR is eventually brought to England players will protest every decision because the referees whistle is no longer law it is instead just a temporary stop to the game whilst everyone argues of a decision like all the pundits do all the time!
The VAR system is to be governed by two people. How the hell is this meant to work? If pundits on sky sports or match of the day can’t agree on a decision which they have 5 billion camera angles on with super HD high definition how are to people in a room going to make the decision whilst having the same conversations as every pundit. So they say to the ref “oh mate we can’t make a decision just go and look at it yourself” 10 minutes later you have a decision which was the original decision the ref made!
In the confederations cup early this year VAR was trailed for the first time and honestly to me it looked like an unmitigated disaster. The example that I remember was in a match between Cameroon and Chile (I think) There was a tackle in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Instantly all the players an to the ref in protest and saying “look on the replay” so the ref eventually pointed to the VAR and put his hand to his ear he waited and waited and waited and eventually he changed the decision to no penalty! This was followed by more protest! The players who thought they had a penalty know didn’t so the ref then stopped the game went to the side-lines and watched the replay himself and then gave the penalty!
It was one of the most ridiculous moments in professional football I have ever seen but this is what we have to expect will happen when VAR is eventually brought to England players will protest every decision because the referees whistle is no longer law it is instead just a temporary stop to the game whilst everyone argues of a decision like all the pundits do all the time!
The VAR system is to be governed by two people. How the hell is this meant to work? If pundits on sky sports or match of the day can’t agree on a decision which they have 5 billion camera angles on with super HD high definition how are to people in a room going to make the decision whilst having the same conversations as every pundit. So they say to the ref “oh mate we can’t make a decision just go and look at it yourself” 10 minutes later you have a decision which was the original decision the ref made!
In an ideal world referees would be treated with the up-most respect where the decision is law because unfortunately they can’t see in slow mo and even though people don’t agree with it, it won’t matter because it’s part of the game. But that isn’t the world we live in. No. We live in a world where children are shown and taught that shouting at the official will eventually influence the game and is the normal thing to do. Shame on you parents who shout at the referee in a game which means nothing for your child’s career because you are the ones who have caused football to go the way it is going. But it doesn’t help that we watching football at home get every reply and every angle and the referee doesn’t because it means when they do make a wrong choice we can slate them because we get the privilege of a 3D reconstruction with every atom perfectly placed so we can see the exact moment a players stud brushed the laces of an opponent causing them to hit the ground like a tree.
But if VAR is to be brought in and there is no stopping it then here’s what needs to happen. The referee makes a decision he thinks that it may be suspect so he calls upon the VAR which is one man on the side of the field who gets to watch the reply and tell the ref yes you were right or no change the decision, at that point the ONE guy who gets the reply what he says is final, no second reviews that is it end of. Or the referee calls for the VAR and he then gets to see the reply and so he is still the person who makes the decision.
You cannot have a commit make the decision because as most of us see every Saturday night that never works. If there is the opportunity for conflict then it needs to be removed because waiting 8 minutes for a decision that is either one of two things is wrong and downright stupid.
But if VAR is to be brought in and there is no stopping it then here’s what needs to happen. The referee makes a decision he thinks that it may be suspect so he calls upon the VAR which is one man on the side of the field who gets to watch the reply and tell the ref yes you were right or no change the decision, at that point the ONE guy who gets the reply what he says is final, no second reviews that is it end of. Or the referee calls for the VAR and he then gets to see the reply and so he is still the person who makes the decision.
You cannot have a commit make the decision because as most of us see every Saturday night that never works. If there is the opportunity for conflict then it needs to be removed because waiting 8 minutes for a decision that is either one of two things is wrong and downright stupid.