Image: Pixabay
The one positive about VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology is that football fans seem to have moved on from debating whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is the GOAT (greatest of all time). Instead, they are now focusing their attention on the pros and cons of this new technology. VAR was present at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and has been rolled out in most major leagues. It finally arrived in the Premier League at the start of the current season but has not been well received.
Is VAR killing the game?
Unlike the Messi/Ronaldo debate, the VAR conversation is much more one-sided with the majority of fans arguing that the use of technology to determine the accuracy of on-field decisions is killing the game. When a goal is scored, there is often an uncomfortable period when VAR checks for any foul play in the build-up. This can take seconds or minutes depending on the scenario. And it can result in goals being disallowed because a player is a few millimetres offside, the ball has touched a hand accidentally or there has been a foul in the build-up.
It was thought that football fans would welcome this scrutiny. After all, they were quick to fume when replays suggested goals should not have stood in the days before VAR. Now, they are unhappy because such fine margins are being used to makes judgement calls on major decisions. That, combined with the interruption to the flow of the game and the muted goal celebrations that have resulted due to lengthy VAR checks have led fans to declare that the game is dead.
Championship still VAR-free
While English Premier League fans have been moaning about the new technology, fans of clubs in the Championship (England’s second-tier league) have been enjoying a VAR-free season. The referees still make mistakes and fans still moan but there is an acceptance that human judgement calls are part of the game.
As early as August, Middlesbrough boss Jonathan Woodgate was calling for VAR when he side lost 1-0 to Brentford after having two seemingly legitimate goals ruled out. With competition so tight in the Championship, three points can make a huge difference to a team’s league position. Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer was another who called for the technology to be introduced.
Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, whose side are currently favourites to top the league in the Championship betting, stated that VAR should be introduced if the referees want it. He said he is just interested in playing. With his side on the verge of reaching the top flight for the first time in nearly two decades, he may get to experience it on a weekly basis soon enough. Will he still feel the same then?
Quicker decisions could reduce frustration
While it appears that the fine margins of offside calls are the main issue, that’s might not always the case. We have seen goals disallowed by goal-line technology because a centimetre of the ball has not crossed the line.
🤯 This is how close Tottenham came to winning it in stoppage time at Watford. Ignacio Pussetto’s clearance on the line denied #THFC. pic.twitter.com/EGbJ96mSYv
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) January 18, 2020
Maybe the main issue with the offside decisions is that it takes so long. If the technology evolved to give an almost instant decision in relation to offside decisions then fans might not get so angry. They would only need to wait a split second to know whether to celebrate or not and the flow of the game would not be interrupted.