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Posted by: Mack. 22nd February 2020, 10:47 PM

In your honest opinion what do you make of Video Assistant Refereeing in football. Should it stay or go. If there were changes made what would you do?

Posted by: awardinary 22nd February 2020, 11:31 PM

It’s so frustrating every week seeing a wrong decision being made. It’s highlighted two key areas of the game that perhaps didn’t get as much negative press in the years preceding it – the offside rule, and the handball rule. Neither have consistent VAR decisions and that’s what gets to me that it doesn’t work, but also, this rule about a incident being “clear and obvious” is never applied and the smallest of margins are causing major game-changing goals to be disallowed for incredible reasons.

If there is one more thing to mention about VAR failures, it would be the dormant use of the sideline video monitors that the referee is supposedly meant to be checking and they never do. What is the point if it’s never used?

Posted by: Dobbo 23rd February 2020, 12:23 AM

VAR is fine. The incompetent people using it, are not.

Posted by: Suedehead2 23rd February 2020, 01:34 PM

Yesterday was surely VAR's worst day in the Premier League so far. Two clear red cards were missed in the Chelsea v Tottenham and Sheff Utd v Brighton games. Leicester were denied a clear penalty for handball and had an equally clear penalty awarded against them. Surely the whole point of VAR is to avoid inconsistencies like that.

Then there was the farcical Burnley v Bournemouth game. The first goal Bournemouth had ruled out was partly a result of the new rule that penalises a forward for handball even if it is not at all deliberate, but it still seemed to hit his shoulder which doesn't count as handball. The penalty Burnley were awarded (thereby ruling out a Bournemouth equaliser) was equally dodgy. Given how much it has been debated, it cannot possibly have been a "clear and obvious error". I don't see how Sean Dyche could claim that the part of his arm (again, arguably the shoulder) can have been in an unnatural position. Unless you are a contortionist, it is practically impossible for your shoulder to be in an unnatural position. He didn't lean towards the ball so it cannot have been deliberate. I don't think I've ever seen Eddie Howe as deflated as he was after that match

Posted by: Steve201 23rd February 2020, 05:00 PM

The Var was a disgrace in that game, could relegate Bournemouth.

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 23rd February 2020, 05:19 PM

VAR has led to a marginal increase in the accuracy of decisions but it's absolutely not worth the massive drop off of the fan experience. It's appalling and has shown on occasion to be completely farcical.

Posted by: Mack. 21st March 2020, 11:52 PM

No VAR for a month, how it is used by incompetent people has made the game look farcical at times.

Posted by: Mack. 17th June 2020, 11:35 PM

Where was it tonight for Sheffield United? That is a disgrace.

Posted by: mick745 21st June 2020, 09:17 AM

At the end of the day decisions equal themselves out over a season. VAR has become the story. Watch for a slow creep of more decisions that will be deferred. It is only a game. If every decision is 100% accurate it makes it boring. Lots of football decisions are a matter of opinion anyway.

Posted by: ukchartstatsfan 4th February 2021, 11:28 PM

BUMP

A year on from this, what are your views currently about VAR, the same as last year or different.

Posted by: awardinary 4th February 2021, 11:35 PM

The Man Utd 9-0 thrashing of 9 man Southampton the other day prompted a few eyebrow raising moments.

The disallowed goal for Che Adams was stupid, we all saw what VAR saw, and it was clear he was NOT offside, and the goal should have been allowed.

The margins are just painstakingly tedious and the time we all have to wait for the decision to be made too. It’s just not on.

The subtle changes to the handball rule in this season are also not clear to players, managers and spectators.

The game has literally been ruined by VAR.

Posted by: Rooney 5th February 2021, 10:49 AM

I don't think VAR has ruined football, but it is certainly highlighted the faults. VAR fixes none of the inconsistencies that we thought it might and too often VAR officials do not want to get involved or are looking at the wrong thing.

A lot of this is magnified by the current rules. Changing the handball rule at the start the season and then scrapping it after a quarter (or interpreting it differently) adds to no consistency. Some of the offside goals that VAR has ruled out this year are hard to take, we are talking absolute the finest of margins and they draw the lines from different places all the time so I honestly have no idea. Plus this ridiculous rule that as an attacker you can score with the top of your arm is absolutely stupid. I'd go as far as saying that has ruined football, how incidents can be missed for pointing (Bamford and Ings goals and then Pickford's GBH assault on Virgil) is just mind boggling.

Also this rule where they wait for play to finish before flagging for offside, yet in some cases even when it is bleeding obvious they are offside, they still don't raise their flags is also stupid. The commentators say it all the time but it's true, someone will get seriously injured when it is not even a marginal call. Either you give VAR the power to overrule linesman or they're shocking at their job.

Posted by: Dobbo. 5th February 2021, 11:37 AM

I will always maintain that VAR is great and absolutely necessary, it's the people using it that cause the problems.

Posted by: Quarantilas 5th February 2021, 11:41 AM

I broadly agree with Roo. If it’s used properly as an extra set of eyes who can spot things the ref team on pitch miss then it’s invaluable. But they miss so many incidents that happen out of the ref view that are clear, at least bookings, if not straight reds.


I think VAR unfairly cops the blame for the new interpretation of the offside rule. There’s no tolerances so you end up with a fingernail offside and it’s such a joke. As with everything overzealous jobsworths sticking to the exact rule will ruin everything.


The offside rule needs some form of slight tolerance to it, they need the ability to flag up issues in real time and offsides need flagged before someone breaks a f***ing leg

Posted by: RabbitFurCoat 5th February 2021, 06:32 PM

Ultimately offside is offside and whilst I agree there are times where you think they should be able to stop much earlier, I generally don't have a problem with goals like Adams and Ings being ruled off because they're technically offside. It's interesting that even in the leagues where a margin of error is used (if the lines are touching) the majority of goals that people complain about being ruled out still won't get given, there have only been a couple in the PL.

It's easy to moan about lines drawn from an inconsistent point on a sleeve because a player would never use it to score a goal, but it's there because of a change following a lot of moaning previously to give more leeway to the attacker after goals being disallowed due to the ball hitting attackers in that part of the body in completely accidental situations, you can't have one handball rule for offside decisions and another one for goals!

I think it would be an improvement if TV companies showed less of the process and be more consistent in only showing the final decision. Some of the images that have been shared to show "how was this offside?" weren't the point the decision was made, but because TV has shown more of the process it then gives wrong information and screenshots a chance to spread.

Posted by: Mack. 4th September 2022, 04:53 PM

The Premier League is to review the controversial VAR decisions at Chelsea and Newcastle yesterday with referees' body PGMOL as a matter of priority.

The move comes after decisions that denied Newcastle United and West Ham goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, respectively.

Both teams thought they had scored, with the goals confirmed by the on-pitch referee.

In each instance, the goals were disallowed after VAR.

Both decisions have been heavily criticised, with many arguing that the role of VAR is not to get involved to reverse debatable calls that have already been made.

Posted by: Mack. 4th September 2022, 05:46 PM

There are meetings planned with the LMA to come up with a bunch of gripes against refs and VAR. On top of that the referees panel are meeting to discuss this weekends fiascos.

Posted by: Mack. 12th September 2022, 01:45 PM

I think the biggest howler might be last night during Juventus v Salernitana, where the VAR disallowed Juventus' last minute would-be winner for an offside,

Posted by: Leatherface 6th October 2022, 01:04 PM

Another article on VAR criticism but does seem for 2 of the decisions talked about the pundits quoted generally agree with the decision made.

Now you could say almost everyone in the piece will be biased in one way or another.

Certainly does sound like Silva was lucky but the 2 guys sent off were probably justified.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63105103

Posted by: Dobbo. 6th October 2022, 01:55 PM

Agreed all 3 were red card offences so 2/3 were correct calls.