I was mildly sceptical of VAR at first but still open minded ….. but when fans, players & managers feel they can’t celebrate a goal anymore then it needs to be stopped or seriously curtailed. TV should be about showing (or recording) a live event as a passive by-stander / viewer – but VAR seems to be specifically designed for TV and is directing the game. Fans in the stadium have often have no idea what’s going on.
It’s true that the handball law is a mess at the moment and needs to be clarified but it is made much worse by VAR. Why? Well a ref could apply a bit of common sense without VAR but with VAR then any appeal has to be minutely, painstakingly scrutinised and then the absolute letter of the law applied. Yes – technically it may be correct but sometimes it’s not right - if you get my meaning. Then there’s the whole timing thing – how far back do you go in time to check something? What if an incident happens in one penalty box then it’s quickly cleared and a goal happens at the other end – do you go back and use VAR for the first incident? So a perfectly good goal at one end is ruled out and a penalty awarded at the other? :crazy: ….and what if the defender in the first incident did handle but inadvertently (so by my understanding not a penalty) but his clearance provided the assist that led directly to the goal at the other end…….. by my understanding that IS now considered a handball as it led directly to a goal? WTF happens then???
I think they need to stick rigorously to ‘clear and obvious’ – the VAR team only bleeping in if a real howler has been made, none of this replay back & forward with lines drawn on the monitor bull. If a ‘reasonable’ ref/lino could have been expected to give the decision that way then let it stand and don’t interfere even if it isn’t actually correct. OK - so that in itself is a grey zone but I say err on the side of minimal external interruptions. V-o-R’s point about gambling is a good one too.
It’s true that the handball law is a mess at the moment and needs to be clarified but it is made much worse by VAR. Why? Well a ref could apply a bit of common sense without VAR but with VAR then any appeal has to be minutely, painstakingly scrutinised and then the absolute letter of the law applied. Yes – technically it may be correct but sometimes it’s not right - if you get my meaning. Then there’s the whole timing thing – how far back do you go in time to check something? What if an incident happens in one penalty box then it’s quickly cleared and a goal happens at the other end – do you go back and use VAR for the first incident? So a perfectly good goal at one end is ruled out and a penalty awarded at the other? :crazy: ….and what if the defender in the first incident did handle but inadvertently (so by my understanding not a penalty) but his clearance provided the assist that led directly to the goal at the other end…….. by my understanding that IS now considered a handball as it led directly to a goal? WTF happens then???
I think they need to stick rigorously to ‘clear and obvious’ – the VAR team only bleeping in if a real howler has been made, none of this replay back & forward with lines drawn on the monitor bull. If a ‘reasonable’ ref/lino could have been expected to give the decision that way then let it stand and don’t interfere even if it isn’t actually correct. OK - so that in itself is a grey zone but I say err on the side of minimal external interruptions. V-o-R’s point about gambling is a good one too.