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Football in Australia is cursed. How else can we explain the pouring rain on a public holiday for a game that might otherwise have drawn a capacity crowd?
When something can go wrong in the A-League, it usually does. And not for the first time, the weather played a huge role in keeping fans away from one of the competition’s high-profile fixtures.
That 21,000 fans turned out in steady rain to watch Sydney FC down Melbourne Victory 3-1 at AAMI Park on Australia Day is testament to the fact plenty of people still want to watch the A-League.
But just when the competition could really have used a positive headline – say, for example, by attracting a full house – the heavens open and we’re left to ponder what might have been.
How often can we say that about the A-League?
At least we’ve reached Round 19, because now Football Federation Australia’s desperately needed marketing campaign ‘for the final third of the season’ will finally kick into gear.
Should we brace ourselves for an avalanche of TV ads and radio promotions, outdoor signage and targeted digital offerings across the spectrum of A-League fandom?
Or maybe not? Having had the entire season to advertise the A-League, opting to spend the majority of their marketing budget on the final third of the season sounds like a colossal waste of time.
Is any fan who might be inclined to attend an A-League game not already aware that the competition is on?
The Big Blue aside, crowds and TV ratings were poor once again this weekend, although at least there were plenty of talking points.
Starting with the VAR. Could it be argued the system worked in Perth Glory’s 3-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers?
Referee Jonathan Barreiro had already waved away claims for a penalty in Perth’s fast start against Western Sydney, only for the VAR to intervene and hand Glory a penalty – and Wanderers youngster Keanu Baccus a straight red card.
Fair call? It was hardly the smartest challenge by Baccus.
And when Liam Reddy tripped Oriol Riera inside the penalty box a short time later, Barreiro didn’t hesitate to award a penalty – and a yellow card to Reddy – which Riera duly converted.
So was it appropriate to send off Baccus but not Reddy? Did the VAR do its job?
In the case of the Glory game, it felt like both of those early decisions were ultimately the right ones.
And in that regard, the VAR could be said to have worked.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
But the problem is – and will always remain – twofold. Firstly, VAR decisions take away from the spontaneity of the action.
When a goal is chalked off or awarded by VAR, it robs fans of the spontaneous joy of the act and replaces it with trial by video.
And, as we saw in the Glory game, these incidents are still open to human interpretation – as the decision to send off Baccus but not Reddy suggests.
Yet perhaps the strangest use of the VAR came in stoppage time of Brisbane Roar’s gutsy 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners.
Firstly, it’s about time the cult of playing out from the back at all costs ended up costing a team three points, as it did the Mariners.
And secondly, why did referee Adam Kersey hesitate to send off Mariners midfielder Wout Brama for his horrific challenge on Corey Gameiro?
Brama should be ashamed of himself following one of the worst tackles ever seen in the A-League.
Yet when Kersey looked set to deservedly hand the Dutch midfielder a red card – with the referee seemingly having the entire situation under control – he hesitated and deferred to the VAR.
So rather than empowering the referee, the VAR is instead making them more indecisive.
Not to mention slowing down the game considerably.
It’s more trouble than it’s worth. But just like dodgy weather and dubious marketing, it looks like it’s here to stay.