VAR Yay or Nay ?

[Alistair20000]

When it was introduced I was in favour thinking it would overturn only the howler decisions in the same way as DRS in cricket which works well.

Now it has become an unholy mess.

Goals chalked off because somebody’s finger nail might have been offside. FFS.

In the Bournemouth v Spurs game Kane was shoved over in the box. Clear penalty and nobody suggested otherwise. Nothing given by Tierney though and Oliver sat in a studio somewhere failed to award it. A clearer and more obvious error is hard to imagine.

Fernandes fouls matey Villa defender and goes down in the box. Penalty given to Manure. Scott in the studio let’s it stand. This one was less clear than the Kane incident but if clear and obvious is the test why are these marginal offside decisions being made ?

The technology could be used so much better but as it stands Feckin’ Dire

 

[Rosencrantz]

It's the way it is used. It's used relatively well elsewhere and in other sports. It shouldn't be difficult for the VAR ref to ask the actual ref what he has seen and why he has awarded what he has, or not, awarded. If the TV shows something different, whether in interpretation or omission, tell the ref to get to the monitor and have another look. At least then the actual ref can then take the decision and not have the cop outs that are happening. The clear and obvious wording are causing too many fig leaves, it's the right decision that matters.

Offsides are a different matter. As soon as VAR came in it was going to be marginal decisions much like line decisions in cricket. And by the way Ali, a finger nail cannot be offside as it is any part of the body that can legally score a goal. Try toe nail .

 

[Hants_red]

All of yesterday's decisions were wrong!

Three VAR errors in one night, MOTD told

Incorrect penalty decisions were made by the video assistant referee in all three of Thursday's games, BBC's Match of the Day is told.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Billy The Fish]

The way top flight football is at present is a real turn off for me. Plastic fans, piped crowd noise and television referees, the whole thing has become FIFA20. It's not the game I played, watched and fell in love with and, to be honest, I'd rather watch Sunday League.

VAR ? It's a Nay from me.

 

[Anonymous]

People were demanding this technology predominantly for the automated goal line technology. The EPL and FA took it much further by essentially instigating a video referee and video lino. That wasn't what people wanted and suffers from human error in the same way as traditional referees and linos do.

Either automate it like goal line technology or get rid of it.

 

[Billy The Fish]

I'm okay with goal line tech and also to punish those off the ball acts of thuggery that the ref can miss but, as you say, when it just becomes someone else's human error what's the point ?

 

[Legohead]

The goal line tech did go wrong with the Villa v Blades match but that was the only occasion I can recall so all in all I think goal line tech is fine and should be kept. VAR for anything else IMO should be scrapped. It's a nightmare.

Three points:

1. Instead of constantly debating and talking about reffing errors as we all did pre VAR, as much time is now spent constantly debating and talking about VAR errors. The sheer scale of VAR errors is insane. It's not one incident every other week. It can be many incidents in every game on a weekend which is madness for a system that is supposed to be getting most things right.

2. As a fan it's changed the game in terms of when a goal is scored you are now always expecting VAR to scrutinise the goal, the build up to the goal and what the manager had for breakfast in order to find some way of chalking the goal off. That is what it feels like and thus a goal can't be properly celebrated because you know that there will be a VAR check and not only that but the VAR check could end up being wrong anyway!

3. Football was football when the ref made the calls. Yes they make mistakes but that's the beauty of the game really. A last minute penalty your team gets a awarded that you know was no way a penalty or the sending off of an opponent when you know it wasn't a red card. Or vice versa. The way you feel aggrieved at a decision or decision made by human error. It's swings and roundabouts and the unknown and this is why I like football and hate VAR. It's a game, not an exact science.

 

[Alistair20000]

It's the way it is used. It's used relatively well elsewhere and in other sports. It shouldn't be difficult for the VAR ref to ask the actual ref what he has seen and why he has awarded what he has, or not, awarded. If the TV shows something different, whether in interpretation or omission, tell the ref to get to the monitor and have another look. At least then the actual ref can then take the decision and not have the cop outs that are happening. The clear and obvious wording are causing too many fig leaves, it's the right decision that matters.

Offsides are a different matter. As soon as VAR came in it was going to be marginal decisions much like line decisions in cricket. And by the way Ali, a finger nail cannot be offside as it is any part of the body that can legally score a goal. Try toe nail .

Are the lines on screen accurate though ?

Quite right, toe nail would have been better. I had changed the example from one I had just read that a player's privy parts might be an inch offside. I assume you are allowed to score with these ?

I agree that the onfield ref ought to look at the screen and make the final decision.

 

[Alistair20000]

All of yesterday's decisions were wrong!

Three VAR errors in one night, MOTD told

Incorrect penalty decisions were made by the video assistant referee in all three of Thursday's games, BBC's Match of the Day is told.

www.bbc.co.uk

Only in matey's opinion Hants.

I think he is right though.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Are the lines on screen accurate though ?

Quite right, toe nail would have been better. I had changed the example from one I had just read that a player's privy parts might be an inch offside. I assume you are allowed to score with these ?

I agree that the onfield ref ought to look at the screen and make the final decision.

The privy parts are absolutely fine .

The lines on the screen are what they have. Unless you build in an "umpire's call" style tolerance into the guidelines, which would probably still attract much moaning, it's what has to be measured by. It goes back to the rule, any part of the body that can legally score a goal that is in advance of the second last opponent shall be deemed offside (I paraphrase). Whatever the offside law is, and I know someone who thinks it should change, it will essentially always be a line decision which will get very marginal decisions. And if technology is there...it will now be used.

The main problem with VAR is as usual those using it and the guidelines they are following (clear and obvious etc). It does seem to be a case of the FA, EPL, PGMOL and whoever having chance to look at the World Cup, UEFA competitions, other countries who were already operating VAR and thinking "we can do better than that" and making a hash of it. Why couldn't they just adopt a system that was already up and running to get going with and then start to adapt where needed when they had bedded down?