Why VAR chaos in football risks ruining the world’s most popular sport

John Dillon17 March 2018

What else did you expect? Of course, VAR delays the game. Of course, it isn’t fool-proof. Of course, managers and coaches will refute the evidence put in front of their very eyes.

They can tweak it all they like; it isn’t going to change. So as VAR returns this weekend in the FA Cup quarter-finals, it’s already time to say - we don’t want it and we don’t need it. After this season's trial, put the box of tricks quietly away. Trust the referees and if they get things wrong, so be it. It’s only football.

In recent times, I’ve grumbled tetchily about watching a new Saturday night football programme called: "Was It a Penalty?"

It’s otherwise known as Match of the Day. They do talk about football occasionally. But they seem to spend most of the time endlessly analysing and re-running refereeing decisions which were made hours earlier and which, without the benefit of a time machine, can’t be changed (perhaps that’s one for Dr Who).

There’s an obvious follow-up show which could replace MOTD2, too. How about: "Or wasn’t it?"

The BBC are not alone in this, of course. All forms of media are at it, although, plainly, these debates work best on TV with the benefit of footage and countless slow-motion replays from all kinds of angles.

In their defence, the Beeb probably believe they are giving the viewers and the fans what they want. If so, then the viewers and the fans have now got what they deserve. And, to coin a phrase, they should have been careful what they wished for. Save these arguments for the pub, please.

It was the game’s endless bleating about officialdom and the constant abuse and belittling of referees which led to the football authorities finally caving in and going the whole hog with technology, even though VAR is only currently being tested out.

Its created chaos and confusion of the type which reigned during Tottenham’s 6-1 FA Cup win against Rochdale last month, leading to six minutes of added time at the end of the first-half and mass jeering and cat-calling in the stands.

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It could all happen again against Swansea this weekend (although an ill-judged 12:15pm kick-off may have the effect of turning a quarter-final into a non-event, because games which kick off so early often fail to come alive).

The major criticism of the technology is about how long it takes officials to make up their minds, in conversation with the remote VAR analyst back at HQ.

It took the referee at Wembley, Paul Tierney, 90 seconds to rule out a goal scored by Erik Lamela of Spurs because there had been a foul in the box.

Well, if it’s so important to get these things right, shouldn’t that be how long it takes?

Or even longer, if necessary.

Or should the officials be rushed into a ruling, anyway, because everyone is getting a bit impatient? That would rather defeat the object, as that’s bound to mean more mistakes.

Isn’t the point to study the evidence and attempt to work out exactly what went on and then deliver the correct response? And more often than not, that won’t be feasible in just a jiffy.

It was the coaches who led the way in creating the pressure for extensive technology because they have a public voice, and they use it to complain relentlessly about decisions which go against them - conveniently omitting any mention of the ones which luckily went their way.

But supporters have joined in vociferously, with their own howls of protest amplified by the advent of social media - but without much logic added to the debate because the views of most fans are even more partisan than those of the managers.

At present, the troubles of the system are opening referees to a fresh, new form of being ridiculed and undermined. It’s another stick with which to beat them. That just cannot be right.

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The plaintive request of all those who back the idea that technology should spread its tentacles across the game is that they only want fairness and consistency.

Who are they kidding? What nearly everybody wants is for things to go their team’s way, and as often as possible.

This columnist has argued all along that the ability of managers to swear that black is white would always collide with the so-called benefits of replay analysis which, in the present try-out, can re-assess goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identities.

Already - as predicted - we’ve seen the emergence of the ‘Yes, but…’ defence in the dug-outs.

As in: ‘Yes, my player did punch out their defender’s lights out. But it would never have happened if we had got the offside decision the VAR should have picked up earlier.’

Lo and behold, VAR is also revealing offences which would previously had gone un-noticed, such as Hueng-min Son’s ‘illegal’ feint before he took his penalty against Rochdale, which was subsequently disallowed.

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

‘Uh-oh’, managers everywhere must have thought; it wasn’t supposed to work like that. It was supposed to help us. Well, in fact, it was supposed to help ME. And credit here, goes to the Spurs boss, Mauricio Pochettino, who said after the game: “The referee is the boss on the pitch and has the last word always."

As for the system letting down supporters inside the stadium because they do not get enough information - well, can you see the crowds nodding gently in agreement and applauding the man in black if they get to see a video explaining why he ruled against their side?

Won’t happen. Ever.

The point about football and why it is the world’s most popular sport is that it is free-flowing. That is why this technology is not suitable in the way it is in rugby and cricket.

That is the simple but unassailable essence of the whole debate.

Some proponents of VAR present the reasoned argument that it can’t eliminate all human error, but at least it will mean there are fewer wrong calls.

So what? That’s simply not a price worth paying for the disruption to individual games and to the whole, dynamic purpose of the sport.

It is fair enough to use cameras to settle some fitting matters, like whether the ball crosses the goal line.

But that is far as it should go. Managers, coaches, players, pundits and fans alike are just going to have to be grown up about it and accept that the decisions of officials are made honestly and in good faith, but they can’t possibly always be right.

Who knows? If this chaos carries on, it might go full circle and make the game more appreciative of what the refs and their assistants actually do.

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