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“Can we just bin this VAR already?” read a tweet from Archie Thompson, as Video Assistant Referees bore the brunt of fan anger following another crazy round of A-League action.
You could almost have forgotten there was a game of football played at Coopers Stadium last night, such was the reaction to the use of the VAR in Adelaide United’s 2-0 win over Western Sydney.
It was an entertaining encounter too, as a double from the vastly improved Ryan Kitto was enough to see off a Wanderers side that should never have been reduced to ten men in the first half.
“We are all to blame for VAR,” said Fox Sports commentator Simon Hill during the coverage, and he’s been an outspoken critic of what he calls a lack of respect shown to officials and a willingness to blame referees for every bad result.
He’s got a point – and when it comes to VAR, Football Federation Australia is clearly caught between a rock and a hard place.
We all see replays of contentious incidents on the TV broadcast, so doesn’t it stand to reason that referees may as well look at those same replays to ensure they don’t make any egregious errors?
The problem, as Hill often points out, is that by relying on technology to make decisions for us, we eliminate the human element that makes football such an intriguing spectacle.
And strangely enough, there’s still an important human element involved in the VAR process – namely interpreting what is being viewed on the replay.
(AAP Image/ James Elsby)
Yesterday referee Chris Beath missed Robbie Cornthwaite’s hand-ball in the penalty area, only to deem it worthy of a second yellow card after being alerted to the incident by the VAR.
Even then, it took what felt like an eternity for Beath to come to a decision, even after he viewed the incident on the touchline himself and play had long continued further up the pitch.
After all that, Beath should have deemed a spot-kick kick punishment enough for what was an innocuous incident, instead of sending Cornthwaite off for his second bookable offence.
Still, we all make mistakes and it’s hardly fair to hang Beath out to dry when the VAR was supposed to eradicate this sort of controversy.
It’s not like we’re the only country having problems with video assistance.
Recently German magazine 11 Freunde asked me for my thoughts on how VAR was going in the A-League – such is the level of dismay with its use in the Bundesliga.
Sunday’s clash wasn’t even the only game which saw the VAR called into question, although Brisbane Roar defender Avraam Papadopoulos can have few complaints after being sent off for spitting on Sydney FC striker Matt Simon in the Sky Blues’ 3-1 win on Saturday night.
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It was perhaps a tad harsh to send off Simon for retaliation, although as plenty pointed out on social media on the night, he’s arguably been deserving of a few more send-offs throughout his colourful career.
Papadopoulos, meanwhile, is looking at a lengthy suspension – and it could hardly have come at a worse time for a Brisbane Roar outfit currently under the pump.
They never got out of first gear against an under-strength Sydney side, and John Aloisi will be desperate for a win against fellow strugglers Western Sydney at ANZ Stadium next Saturday.
The real winners of the round were a trio of unheralded sides, as Perth Glory followed up Newcastle’s impressive win on Thursday night with a 3-1 trouncing of Melbourne City, while the Central Coast Mariners flogged Wellington Phoenix 4-1 in the Kiwi capital.
There were plenty of talking points between them, not least a first ever yellow card to A-League coach awarded to – who else? – Glory coach Kenny Lowe.
But the action was largely overshadowed by the VAR.
It won’t be going anywhere before the end of the season, but surely it needs to improve before this becomes the campaign where video killed football as we know it.