Although the Video Assistant referee (VAR) system has recently started in England on a trial basis after being around for two years elsewhere, I can only say, in my humble opinion – I hate it.
True, it’s like Marmite or Vegemite – you either love it or hate it, but at the moment you certainly can’t ignore it!
Some people in the UK have been saying it’s a breath of fresh air to the game, but I feel differently.
It’s been brought in to stop some decisions being overlooked and also to try and stop players arguing with the officials, but even when the ref has had a look at the TV screen and finally gives his decision, the answer still doesn’t always go down well, and the ref is surrounded by angry players, as always.
The main thing I find annoying about it though is the time that it wastes.
If there is something the ref wants to double check, he then has to notify the VAR person and then spends a few minutes staring at a screen watching the incident go back and forth in real time, and slowed down and at different angles until he can finally make a decision.
If it happens only once in a game, it’s not too much of a problem as long as the correct decision in finally made. But, if the ref has more of a conscience, or is indecisive, it can happen a few times.
When this is all added up, it stops play which in turn wastes more time and reduces the flow of what could be an entertaining match.
And, of course, the poor man in the middle will also be criticised if he doesn’t stop to look at the VAR, and decides to go with his gut instinct instead.
I can see if it’s used in the World Cup, that some games are going to go on for nearly two hours instead of 90 minutes, and if it’s a drab 0-0 draw it’s hardly going to be a great advert for the beautiful game is it?
I can see the point of it in rugby league, where the ref can’t see whether a try has been scored because of the massive amount of bodies all around where the oval ball has landed.
And certainly goal-line technology has been a positive point in football as well, but at least that is a black or white decision-making system, whether it has crossed completely over the line or not.
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The VAR still has to be decided on by a human being, and whether the positioning of the VAR cameras are in the right place at the right time for a correct decision to be made.
If not, then the referee still gets the stick and 50 per cent of the fans in the ground will be on his back –
nothing new there then!
Looking on the bright side though, at least only Premier League matches and higher levels of the game are having this experiment, which will make our brilliant non-league football much more attractive to the people who want blood and thunder soccer, where errors are part and parcel of the game and controversy gives you all something to talk about in the bar after the match.
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