VAR is fine - the problem is pressure and panic from humans in the studio

No modern change within the game of football has caused more consternation, stress and dissatisfaction than the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee.

Much of the anger directed towards the system, which was first used consistently in a top flight league in 2017 when the A-League Men’s took a leap of faith into the unknown and became a global guinea pig, is based around what many perceive as the unnecessary influence of technology.

To some, football is a beautiful game that has survived quite happily without the need for perfection in decisions, and the controversy associated with referees part of the tapestry of enjoyment that makes the game as enthralling as it is on a weekly basis.

Yet the fan frustration directed towards the greater influence of digital code, in an attempt to get more and more decisions correct and avoid the ‘clanger’ errors that leave supporters nothing short of furious, is actually a little misguided.

The ‘tech’ is fine.

The lines drawn across the width of the pitch to determine if a player is offside are straight and precise, as are points of contact between players legs and between the ball and hand in the penalty area.

Shoulders and feet are perfectly aligned in off-side decisions, in spite of the frustration of fans who despise the delay in the awarding of a goal and the time taken before a final decision is made.

The real problem lies nearer the people placed under immense pressure in a small studio; those charged with interpreting the vision and mathematical constructs and then applying them to the game of football.

Toss in the insistence that everything should be completed in a timely manner to appease fans who had previously enjoyed days gone by where home pitch advantage no doubt played a role in the outcome of many matches and the real issue becomes apparent.

The pressure on the VAR and subsequent speed demanded becomes the essential source of the errors and NOT the actual technology itself.

Football once existed as a sport that moved on briskly from contentious moments, before the age of video replays brought question to decisions that often appeared to be heavily influenced by the heaving stadium in which the match was being played.

I’ve watched enough bias home town decisions at Anfield, Old Trafford, Ibrox and during the World Cup Finals to realise just how imperfect the system was, and perhaps the need for a modern VAR would have been far less urgent had the officials of times gone by shown a little more gumption and integrity.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has his team firing early in the season, with a little help from the VAR. (Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)

Yet here we are, in the first decade of the new age of football where technology continues to be used in increasing ways to ensure that matches are completed with the rightful winner earning the three points come the final whistle.

The point was never more clearly made than during the fiasco that occurred in the English Premier League match between Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on October 1st in London, where the visiting team were denied a clear goal after a panicked and nervy VAR crew made a decision that was simply false and unnecessary.

Quite simply, Liverpool scored a perfectly legitimate goal, VAR checked the lead up down the right hand side of the pitch and the propellerheads in the booth appeared to tick it off soon after.

Then bizarrely, in a mad sweaty orgasm of stupidity and ineptitude, the message sent downfield denied the Reds a perfectly legal goal and in a moment of sheer hilarity, those responsible begin swearing and panicking knowing what would be coming their way in the aftermath.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the technology, nor the images presented to the decision makers.

The injustice was dished out, quite simply, by a small group of rushed and pressurised officials, who if given the time to adjudicate without the howls of traditional football supporters ringing in their ears later in the week, could well have been able to hand down the correct information to the referee.

The algorithm works perfectly in almost every case from a scientific perspective and given the time and space to analyse the images, no VAR crew should be sending down an incorrect decision to the on-field official.

Human error will always be a part of football, yet VAR has immense potential to make the game better, more transparent and less controversial.

Perhaps resisting the temptation of listening to frustrated fans who want everything completed in an expedited manner and often at the expense of the correct ruling, would allow those charged with making the most crucial decisions to do so without the insane pressure that comes along with their position.

Everyone wants a quick and flowing game of football, yet if VAR is to be a part of the long term future of the game it might be time to give the people actually making the decisions the space to get them right and not appear as geese later on, thanks to the inevitable criticism that will follow should the call take a little longer than many would prefer.

VAR works, of that there is not doubt. It is the folks involved with it and the human pressure applied to it that causes the problems.

Once football understands that, a better melding of the humans and technology involved in the decision making could be found and thus, a more just game could be created.

Right now, it appears we are sill a long way from that reality.