V.a.r : the myth, the farce and how to save it.

[Death]

I’d keep goal line technology but VAR needs to go.

Lots of examples of it being dreadful but my main issue is the offsides. There wasn’t a single fan in the country who had a big problem with offside goals. If a player looked around level (no daylight) then people had no issue with a goal being given (for or against). I’d even accept the odd mistake as long as I can celebrate a goal again.

Its like the main objective is to stop goals and they will do everything in thier power. And beyond in some cases.

 

[Pootsy]

Because there is a lot more money in Football than Rugby, that is why lines will always be drawn because, if the officials get it wrong, so much more is at stake. In rugby there are still decisions made by the video referee that are disputed. It is better but it is also not without faults. There is no perfect system and errors will always be made, different interpretations will always exist. I agree that the rule changes so often do not help. With offside we have had "daylight between the attacker and last defender", thin lines drawn, now thick lines drawn. It is always going to upset one side because the attacker will either be onside by a matter of inches or offside by a matter of inches. The subjective calls are the consistent inconsistency because it comes down to interpretation.

At least if you can hear the decision making process that goes a long way to appease those who feel an injustice has taken place. Hearing, "In my opinion they are level therefore I'll side with the attacking player" is much better than two tick lines overlapping.

I get what you are saying and in truth agree with everything you've said. There will always be contentious decisions. It what makes the sport. The debate in the boozer afterwards needs to remain. But the decision making needs to be transparent.

 

[chrismpw]

First off if this needs moving then apologies everybody...

V.a.r was supposed to be the saviour of football...
A system brought in to wipe out the idea of bias and corruption amongst referees,
A system that would rule out human error by filling in the gaps missed during real time play...

However, all we've seen so far is a farcical system employed to further the idea that referees are all powerful and incapable of mistakes,
Every club has had it's issues with v.a.r but I can't help thinking through my blue tinted specs that we've had some of the worst decisions..

It won't happen but these are some of the things I'd like to be brought in in order to get some consistency and level the playing field so to speak....

Referee's need to be held accountable if they want the respect they campaign for...
They're all mic'd up so we should be able to hear the conversations and reasoning behind decisions...

If players continue to swear, shove, encroach and otherwise attempt to influence the referee then they should be given yellow cards, only the respective captains should be allowed to speak to the ref....

V.a.r itself needs to be simplified and enforced properly, the original wording was v.a.r would only interfere in the event of a clear and obvious error,
If you're drawing lines to show why a player is mm's offside then in my book it's not a clear and obvious error....

Also, the person on charge of the v.a.r should not be making decisions...
If the v.a.r spots an error they should be telling the on pitch ref to consult the pitch side monitor, that way they can make an informed decision with the benefit of evidence they may have missed in real time...

There's probably plenty more I could say but I've had 4 hours sleep after putting up with all the drunk kopites working as a taxi driver haha

Tldr, v.a.r can be good if it's done properly

I applaud your correct use of full stops when using an abbreviation. They are most often and wrongly omitted by the bone idle youth of today.

* wanders off to argue with a cloud

 

[kev]

I’d keep goal line technology but VAR needs to go.

Lots of examples of it being dreadful but my main issue is the offsides. There wasn’t a single fan in the country who had a big problem with offside goals. If a player looked around level (no daylight) then people had no issue with a goal being given (for or against). I’d even accept the odd mistake as long as I can celebrate a goal again.

I doubt that there is anybody who would argue against goal line technology. It's so black or white, i.e. either all the ball is over the line or it's not.
I also believe that as technology advances, offside decisions and even who last touched the ball before it went out of play may also be ascertained without doubt (we're clearly nowhere near that stage yet like)
No matter how good technology becomes however, the referee on the pitch should ALWAYS be the SOLE ARBITER re red/yellow cards, penalty decisions etc.
If it's felt that something has been missed by the ref, then by all means have HIM review it on screen, but HE should make the final decision NOT somebody sat in a room miles away.

Penalty decisions and bookings should

 

[luuk_deventer]

If it's felt that something has been missed by the ref, then by all means have HIM review it on screen, but HE should make the final decision NOT somebody sat in a room miles away.

This is what happens isn't it? With everything other than offsides.

 

[Abertonian]

This is what happens isn't it? With everything other than offsides.

Apart from Saturday

 

[luuk_deventer]

Apart from Saturday

The ref definitely signalled for an offside. I know Lampard said afterwards they didn’t but that is what Tierney pointed for.

 

[Abertonian]

The ref definitely signalled for an offside. I know Lampard said afterwards they didn’t but that is what Tierney pointed for.

The VAR review clearly didn't look at offside at all. The screen said it was being reviewed as a possible penalty. If this was news to the ref even more of a reason for him to get his rear end over to a monitor.

It was a carve up.

 

[jtl60]

Its just typical of the way the game is run in this country ( and probably others) that we can't do it nice and simple. The ref and his team of assistants around the pitch are there to ref a game, if they miss something ( like a defender sticking out his harm to control a ball) , there should be a person who knows the rules of the game saying "Take another look at the screen, see what you think" It should be in no way the decision of a person hundreds of miles away to make.

 

[Johnniepk]

Just bin it.
Have ball over the line tech, the rest can go.

 

[Johnniepk]

I can live with Tierney not giving it because of his view. Still wrong but understandable.
To be wrong with multi views is causing me too much stress.

 

[Toffeelover]

Do we want to save VAR ?

 

[Toffeelover]

The ref definitely signalled for an offside. I know Lampard said afterwards they didn’t but that is what Tierney pointed for.

Richie was not offside IMO.

 

[ElGato]

Many of the issues with borderline calls basically boils down to the standard of officiating. Refs are still scared of making the big calls against the top 4-6 teams. VAR was never going to solve the subjectivity of interpretation, and better training/vetting of refs is the answer there.

The people who run footy are so arrogant and I genuinely can't believe that they haven't just borrowed some basic techniques from other sports who have used video tech for longer:
- From rugby; mike up the refs and display the replay on stadium screens. Refs don't need to be sent to the touchline. Have some transparency over the conversation that is taking place and the rationale behind the decisions. The decision should always be made by the on field referee, with the TMO merely providing the images and a second pair of eyes to help him work through that decision.
- From cricket; have a margin for error on offsides. If it looks like over 50% of the player's body is offside, then it is offside. If he is level by 50% or more then go with the 'umpires call', and the original decision by the linesman stands. How one judges 50% or not should be a matter of instant reaction, no measurement required. There will still be some marginal calls in there, but drawing lines and trying to quantify it to the nearest millimetre is king cnut stuff.

It's literally that simple.

 

[kev]

This is what happens isn't it? With everything other than offsides.

Well it didn't happen on Saturday did it? The ref should have been asked to look at the hand ball and make a decision.
Chris Kavanagh was the one who made the decision.