yes
james andrew
When VAR was introduced it was done so under the idea that it removes the capacity for human error, and it is difficult to argue against that. There isn’t a player, manager or fan in the land that wouldn’t want a system in which the correct decisions were made all the time and there was no scope for human error. And that is why it is so incredibly frustrating when clear and obvious mistakes are made by VAR, and they are then blamed on the very thing that this was brought in to eradicate – ‘human error’. And the truth is that even when VAR does work it is still one person’s subjective interpretation of where to draw the lines for an offside decision and the frame rate means that it is essentially just a best guess. Few would argue that the percentage of correct decisions has risen but that is not the point – the point is that it has come at the cost of disrupting the rhythm of the game, something football relies on. Then, when mistakes are made, they seem worse because we were told that this is exactly what VAR was brought in to get rid of. Even goal-line technology, which was universally welcomed and has improved that part of the game, has fallen foul to mistakes. Aston Villa may be riding high under Unai Emery both domestically and in Europe, but a sliding doors moment could have seen them playing the likes of Plymouth and Rotherham if the technology had been working correctly for the ghost goal scored by Sheffield United’s Ollie Norwood back in 2020. Villa got a point from the game and then ended up surviving by that very margin. Bringing in technology to eradicate human error makes sense, but there is too much money in football for that technology to fail. My feeling is that we are one major mistake away from a match or even a title being decided in a courtroom and not on the pitch. And there will not be a player, manager or fan who wants to see that. As it stands VAR has not lived up to its promise and should therefore be scrapped.
no
mattketchell
Anti-VARers may dream of a return to the era of uncorrected refereeing errors, but to scrap the technology in its entirety would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. No, the problem for referee chief Howard Webb is that he can’t get the staff. He basically said so himself at the start of the season when he publicly spoke about standards being “allowed to decline”. He wasn’t talking about refereeing standards, he was addressing behaviour towards officials. The knock-on effect is that fewer people want to be referees and consequently, poorer quality rises to the top. Webb pointed to a worldwide decline in referees entering the game, saying that a collective effort was required from everyone involved in football to address poor behaviour. He’s spot on. The topic of VAR hit a low point after Luiz Diaz’s goal for Liverpool was wrongly given offside against Spurs in September. But here, inept communication between the VAR and the referee was to blame. As the released audio confirmed, it was a distracted and tired human being (Darren England) trying to do things at speed, because one of the major criticisms of VAR is how long it all takes. When you do things quicker, it’s difficult – I really felt for him. Liverpool were denied a goal in a Premier League game. Sadly, that happens. It has probably happened to your team. VAR was supposed to reduce this happening, and I believe it has, but I don’t even think robots officiating games will alleviate the situation. The presence of VAR has given a false narrative: mistakes should be impossible. Clearly, the reality is… they aren’t. They will continue because incidents that happen in football are not always conclusive. A section of fans will always feel aggrieved. There’s no agenda or conspiracy against Liverpool fans. Most decisions in football can be interpreted differently. This is a people issue, rather than technology. Remember, if VAR didn’t exist that Liverpool goal still wouldn’t have stood as it was given offside on the field. Society, and the culture in football circles that makes it seem OK to abuse humans who make mistakes, are the issue. Crack down on that and refereeing standards (and the use of VAR) will improve. Isn’t that what we all want?
