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Will video assistance fix the A-League's refereeing mistakes?

19th February, 2017
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Will Graham Arnold find a way for the Socceroos to score? (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Expert
19th February, 2017
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Will video assistant referees solve the A-League’s officiating problem? They certainly could have saved Sydney FC’s unbeaten season on Saturday night.

Referee Chris Beath reportedly apologised to Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold after the Sky Blues were denied a clear-cut penalty in stoppage time of an enthralling Sydney derby.

Full credit to Beath for admitting his mistake, but there are still plenty of reasons to be annoyed – and not just if you’re a Sydney FC fan.

Perhaps the most frustrating element of the non-penalty decision is the fact that Brosque had no reason to go down in the first place.

He had already beaten Jonathan Aspro before Robbie Cornthwaite stuck out a leg and clearly tripped the Sydney FC attacker, so why didn’t Beath blow his whistle?

Maybe it had something to do with the fact he was around 15 yards behind the play, but no doubt his assistant referee had a clearer view?

And if neither of them saw it, then surely the addition of Video Assistant Referees from Round 26 onward can only be viewed as a good thing?

Or can it?

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When a VAR was used in a friendly between Wellington Phoenix and Beijing BG in midweek, all accounts suggest video referee Kris Griffiths-Jones got the decision to award a penalty to the hosts spectacularly wrong.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the way video technology can impact a sport comes from the National Rugby League, where countless controversial video replay decisions led the NRL to introduce the Bunker last year.

The NRL Bunker has been a major source of derision in 2016

Yet the Bunker has proved no less contentious, with the NRL once again tweaking the rules around the way it will be used in 2017, all the while as officials refer decision after decision to the video refs.

Is football doomed to the same fate? Or will VARs simply help referees make the right decision in situations like the Sydney derby’s stoppage-time drama, or Nebojsa Marinkovic’s goal in Perth Glory’s 2-2 draw with Brisbane Roar – after the ball had clearly gone out of play?

There was more questionable decision-making going on in the stands on Saturday night, with the Red and Black Bloc embarrassing itself with a crass banner of the utmost vulgarity.

It really is about time Football Federation Australia and the Western Sydney Wanderers stood up to the small collective of cretins who continually bring the A-League into disrepute, and they should start by banning the RBB for at least one game.

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If Borussia Dortmund can play in front of an empty Südtribüne like they did on Saturday night, then the Wanderers should suffer the same punishment for the offensive banner displayed at the derby.

Unless officials start to take punitive action, the same thing will keep happening – not least because the selfish members of the RBB care more about themselves than what happens to their club, and delight in causing offence to the benefit of absolutely no one.

These are the same imbeciles who complain that the mainstream media has a vendetta against them, and the sooner FFA gets rid of the persistent trouble-makers, the better for the A-League.

Wanderers fans rejoice in A-League season 2013/2014 (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

It’s a shame to focus on the banner when the derby itself provided gripping drama, and the result certainly seemed to leave second-placed Melbourne Victory with a spring in their step.

They dished out an old-school thrashing to the Central Coast Mariners yesterday, thumping the hosts 3-0 in Gosford as James Troisi ran the show and Besart Berisha registered a brace in the rout.

The win means Victory have cut the deficit at the top of the standings to eight points, and their Round 22 summit meeting with Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium could yet prove pivotal.

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The Sky Blues were unlucky to see their unbeaten run end on Saturday, but we haven’t heard the last of them yet.

Or, for that matter, the last of whether VARs will help or hinder the A-League.

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