I still wasn’t sure what I thought about VAR going into this new season in the Premier League. Sorry, yes, I’m writing about VAR! There are arguments on both sides of course; if there weren’t, everyone would be of the same opinion. I’m slowly coming off the fence, which is a very limited use of modern technology. Let me explain.
It’s human nature to like something which favours your own club. So in the play-off final against Sheffield United – hurray for VAR! If it hadn’t been for its involvement
when we all thought they had scored their second goal, we wouldn’t have got promoted – probably. But I doubt the Sheffield fans were singing VAR’s praises – for exactly the same reason. So the argument that “thank goodness for VAR otherwise we wouldn’t be where we are now” is a very “tribal” point of view – not a broad-brush opinion.
It raised its ugly head again on Saturday against Everton. When Adam Aznou decided to fall over because Hume breathed on him, the appalling John Brooks pointed to the penalty spot. Garner converted, and although we eventually got through with a superb penalty shootout, it could all have been a different story. If VAR had been used, I think everyone agrees (including Everton fans) that Brooks would have been called over to the screen, and he would have had to rule out the decision with his tail between his legs. So another plus point for VAR in the eyes of us Sunderland fans. But as I say – it’s easy to agree with VAR when the decisions are going our way. I wonder what the cries will be when we are disallowed a goal on a VAR review?
The reason I’m writing about it (again) after the weekend’s FA Cup fixtures is because of the number of people writing (and commentating) on matches that seemed more free-flowing, with less interruptions, due to VAR not being used in the third round (another blog in its own right!). On the surface, why wouldn’t fans get behind a technology that aims to get to the right decision, no matter how long it takes? But therein lie two points of contention. The waiting time to reach those decisions is sometimes counterproductive to an enjoyable game. Decisions that take a long time are surely not “clear and obvious”. Regardless of technology – it is the humans in their little boxes that interpret what they are seeing. I for one can totally understand how a referee who sees an offence just once, in real time, can make an error, which Match of the Day cameras or Sky cameras can later show. What I can’t accept is so-called “experts” watching an offence over and over and they still come to the wrong decision. This happens every week in the Premier League, and not just on the odd occasions. There is absolutely no excuse for VAR officials to come to the wrong conclusion – but they do. You could argue therefore that it isn’t the fault of the VAR technology, but humans. Well this is true. But human involvement can’t be eradicated in this decision-making, so it will always be flawed.
Where technology is used without human involvement, like in goal-line instances, then I totally accept its use.
Others make the point that it makes referees lazy. They know they have the backup of VAR, so don’t apply enough common sense at times to their decisions, thinking that if they’re wrong, no harm will be done. Except of course that the hidden officials are also fallible, even with the availability of countless replays.
Technology in cricket is almost foolproof, with the use of Hawk-Eye and the Snickometer. In tennis also – Hawk-Eye is next to foolproof. But in sports where there is human contact, that’s when decisions can become subjective. But at least in rugby, the whole crowd can watch the replays on a big screen, and can hear the discussion between the off-field officials and how they come to their ruling. Us football fans are kept in the dark, as though we are too stupid to listen to the thought process.
Maybe there is a case, like in cricket and tennis, and Rugby League, where there are a set number of challenges (or “Captain’s Challenges”) to a decision? As I say, in football the crowd is left in the dark for sometimes over five minutes, only for the referee to say “After review…” – which usually gives no extra information whatsoever. Also annoyingly, you know when a referee gets called over to the screen – he will change his mind. Where are the strong-willed refs who think “No, I was right in real time”? Another rant of mine. Why are replays always shown in slow motion? It always makes a foul worse and more aggressive.
I include in my personal summary of VAR – offside decisions. There were some offsides over last weekend that when scrutinised by the TV cameras were deemed to be incorrect. But at first viewing by the naked eye they seemed to be the correct decision, or at least a close call. I’d far rather go back to when offsides were obvious offsides, and not because a line drawn on the screen deemed that someone’s big toe was offside. Surely this was never the intention of the rule in the first place. For me it was refreshing for only obvious offsides to be given.
I’d far rather be able to give officials the benefit of the doubt for making an error in a split moment, than to know a wrong decision had been made after countless replays. That “joy” has yet to be experienced by Sunderland fans at the moment.
If you are pro-VAR in all its forms, reading this will have annoyed you, and I apologise. But in my opinion, which I’m allowed to have, I think it disrupts the flow of a game and takes away any common sense refs used to have. As I say – this opinion was in no small way formed by listening to numerous commentaries over the weekend, where I heard “Isn’t it lovely to know that the game is just going to proceed without the intervention of VAR” on numerous occasions.
One footnote that was pointed out to me by my stepson who comes to matches with me – when we score now, I don’t react immediately with unbridled joy. I stand there agape for a few seconds while my eyes check the ref, check the linesman, check the referee again, and then I might let my brain accept that we have scored a goal, in case there is a VAR intervention.
This is all a personal view, but I’m sure there are thousands of fans out there who think that with modern technology we’ve gone a step too VAR.
