Don't see an issue with it at all. If you're anti VAR or any kind of process that leads to fair decisions being made then you don't really have much right to criticise or complain about refereeing on a Saturday as far as I'm concerned.
It works in cricket and tennis because it either confirms or overturns a decision made in real time by the umpire after the ball is dead. ( in the case of tennis, it's the player who decides the play is dead). The game isn't stopped. A quick, factual decision is made, communicated quickly and the game moves on.
In rugby it works so lost as well. The ref stops the play, gives a decision and that's either confirmed or overturned.
In football, it cannot work as well. Artificial stops in play have to be introduced (e.g. in the example where a striker falls in the box, the keeper gathers the ball and sets up an attack: at what point (and how many minutes later?) does the "penalty" decision get reviewed? And what happens to decisions made in the interim?)
Cricket, tennis and rugby should persist with technology, as it actually improves the game. Football needs to change this flawed, slow entertainment-draining experiment, because it will suffer otherwise.
Anything to stop these guys swan diving all over the place is good. Very much enjoyed the 2 Chelsea guys being red carded in the game against Norwich. Whenever I watch games, players falling over for free kicks the whole time just drives me insane, and disrupts what used to be the flow of the game. And once you start noticing it, it's even more maddening.
Var is long overdue in football in my opinion, considering their is so much money in wages and transfer fees at the top level, long term it’s got to be a good thing.
They just need to sort out things like having the mic rigged up on the ref, and big screen replays so the crowd feels involved, and try and cut down the wait times for decisions to be made.
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not. It’s also going to cause chaos on offside decisions.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not.
But it shouldn't be about people have a debate after the game. It should be about sportsmen getting the fair result for the efforts they are putting in - why should players' careers be affected by wrong decisions simply so us fans can have something to chat about in the pub afterwards?
As fans we spend the majority of the season complaining about refereeing decisions. If something comes along to stop us having to complain about those issues, then I don't understand why people would be against that. Maybe it's just the mindset of fans who feel like they need to complain about something, however illogical it is.
I believe there should be an extra ref in the booth who makes the decisions for VAR and sends the answer to the ref on the field. Wasting 2-3 min for all of these is awful. If they did it this way, it would take no more time to get the answer than it takes those watching television to get the answer... about 15-30 seconds.
Also, one thing the NFL does right is that evidence to overturn a call on the field must be "conclusive." In other words, evidence must be strong enough to overturn the original decision, not just a preponderance of the evidence.
For me the problem is with subjective decisions. For me, Salah did get a wee pull but nowhere near enough to justify his dive. After VAR could they award a penalty (because there obviously was some, albeit minimal, contact) AND book Salah for diving?
The other issue is unconscious bias. How often do you hear commentators make a judgement on a call and when replays show them to be wrong they still don't admit they are wrong - yes I mean you Messrs Birtles, Provan and Sutton (although that is conscious bias because they are all arseholes - FACT)
Isnt a decision in any sport right or wrong? And surely the point of VAR (as it is in Cricket with DRS) is to try to get as many right decisions as possible? How we would have loved to have VAR when Lampards shot was over the line v Germany in the WC?
As long as they pulled the plug out for Geoff Hursts second goal in 1966....
We would have still won.
Would Germany have pushed up that much in the 120th minute at 2-2 rather than 2-3
Plus "there are people on the pitch" it's mandatory for a referee to stop play when any encroachment on the pitch. Still 2-2 and a replay (no penalty shoot out in 66). Jimmy Greaves comes back for the replay and scores a hat trick in a 3-1 win. Sir Jimmy is knighted and plain Geoff Hurst works in insurance when he retires. Sliding doors history.
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not. It’s also going to cause chaos on offside decisions.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
Without wanting to be personal, that's just weird. I don't want to be talking about referees and their decisions, in the same way I don't talk about the umpire after a tennis match, or the race officials after an Olympic track event.
If all you can talk about after a football match is the officials I'd suggest you're not really a fan of football. If VAR means I get to talk about the actual football rather than external elements that aren't supposed to effect the result, then it's not just beneficial, it's essential.
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not. It’s also going to cause chaos on offside decisions.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
Without wanting to be personal, that's just weird. I don't want to be talking about referees and their decisions, in the same way I don't talk about the umpire after a tennis match, or the race officials after an Olympic track event.
If all you can talk about after a football match is the officials I'd suggest you're not really a fan of football. If VAR means I get to talk about the actual football rather than external elements that aren't supposed to effect the result, then it's not just beneficial, it's essential.
Did you watch the match on TV tonight? They spent the whole of half time talking about VAR. Barely a mention of how come W Brom managed to be leading 3-1 when Liverpool were nine months unbeaten at Anfield. It overshadowed and dominated the whole thing.
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not. It’s also going to cause chaos on offside decisions.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
Home game against Walsall last weekend the ref was excellent. You didn't have people coming out of the ground saying "oh I'm so disappointed that there were no wrong decisions to get worked up about".
That argument is another nonsense IMO.
It will only get better and lead to more and more correct decisions over time - improving the enjoyment of the game for everyone. People just don't like change. Simples.
And he'd FU%%ING KNOW WOULDN'T HE! The biggest twat when it comes to pulling up people on urban myths and shitting from a great height on any generally accepted piece of music folklore. Two faced, sanctimonious, obsequious wanker. He keeps telling us he is emigrating to the USA. FFS GO!
I hate VAR, football is an extremely subjective game and that’s part of the enjoyment, having a debate after the game as to whether it was a penalty/free kick/red card or not. It’s also going to cause chaos on offside decisions.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
Without wanting to be personal, that's just weird. I don't want to be talking about referees and their decisions, in the same way I don't talk about the umpire after a tennis match, or the race officials after an Olympic track event.
If all you can talk about after a football match is the officials I'd suggest you're not really a fan of football. If VAR means I get to talk about the actual football rather than external elements that aren't supposed to effect the result, then it's not just beneficial, it's essential.
Did you watch the match on TV tonight? They spent the whole of half time talking about VAR. Barely a mention of how come W Brom managed to be leading 3-1 when Liverpool were nine months unbeaten at Anfield. It overshadowed and dominated the whole thing.
Because it's new. It's obviously going to be a talking point.
Give it a year or two and it will become second nature.
Football is an emotional imperfect specticle. Referee is just another player in it - fallible like all the others on the pitch, like the weather, like. .. the pitch... Our collective quest for a game with no variables is sad. If football is the 'beautiful game' VAR is ugly.
People that make the arguement that VAR would stop debates and arguements down the pub about football.
Football is a business to owners, and 1 wrong decision could cost an owner millions of pounds in some cases.
If VAR can correct wrong decisions(like yesterday, the ref made 2 calls and got them wrong, but VAR corrected him) then its great, if it stops arguements, then find sonething else to argue about.
I love football and hate when a match turns because of a dodgy decision.
Cricket is a game of pauses anyway. Between each delivery, between each over etc there are periods of literal dead time, and it's not like football where you can take a quick throw or freekick, you have to wait until the opposition is ready. The pauses for DRS are just increasing the length of existing pauses, ditto the hawkeye checks in tennis.
Throw ins, free kicks, corners, goal kicks, substitutions, injuries, restarts, half time. Football is full of natural beaks too.
People that make the arguement that VAR would stop debates and arguements down the pub about football.
Football is a business to owners, and 1 wrong decision could cost an owner millions of pounds in some cases.
Football is a great game, and that is why big business got involved. It was never (and in my opinion should never) have been the other way round. Football is being played where business is nowhere to be seen. Wrong decisions even themselves over time and become part of our collective memory. It is a game, not 'only a game', a very very crucial one, but a game...
You'd think VAR made two terrible decisions which wrongly altered the outcome of the match.
As it was, the two decisions were spot on and meant an unjust 3-1 score line without VAR would've justly been 2-2 just a couple of minutes later, had Liverpool not missed their penalty.
Comments
In rugby it works so lost as well. The ref stops the play, gives a decision and that's either confirmed or overturned.
In football, it cannot work as well. Artificial stops in play have to be introduced (e.g. in the example where a striker falls in the box, the keeper gathers the ball and sets up an attack: at what point (and how many minutes later?) does the "penalty" decision get reviewed? And what happens to decisions made in the interim?)
Cricket, tennis and rugby should persist with technology, as it actually improves the game. Football needs to change this flawed, slow entertainment-draining experiment, because it will suffer otherwise.
They just need to sort out things like having the mic rigged up on the ref, and big screen replays so the crowd feels involved, and try and cut down the wait times for decisions to be made.
If the linesman raises his flag and all the defenders stop and the player scores, only for it to be pver turned by VAR how can that possibly be fair?
Maybe it’s just me but I love the unpredictability of the decisions..
Had liverpool scored the penalty it would have been 2-2 without VAR it would have been 3-1
As fans we spend the majority of the season complaining about refereeing decisions. If something comes along to stop us having to complain about those issues, then I don't understand why people would be against that. Maybe it's just the mindset of fans who feel like they need to complain about something, however illogical it is.
Also, one thing the NFL does right is that evidence to overturn a call on the field must be "conclusive." In other words, evidence must be strong enough to overturn the original decision, not just a preponderance of the evidence.
When a player gets injured and gets treatmeant, that can take a few minutes at times, there is no difference
If all you can talk about after a football match is the officials I'd suggest you're not really a fan of football. If VAR means I get to talk about the actual football rather than external elements that aren't supposed to effect the result, then it's not just beneficial, it's essential.
That argument is another nonsense IMO.
It will only get better and lead to more and more correct decisions over time - improving the enjoyment of the game for everyone. People just don't like change. Simples.
The biggest twat when it comes to pulling up people on urban myths and shitting from a great height on any generally accepted piece of music folklore. Two faced, sanctimonious, obsequious wanker.
He keeps telling us he is emigrating to the USA. FFS GO!
Give it a year or two and it will become second nature.
Referee is just another player in it - fallible like all the others on the pitch, like the weather, like. .. the pitch...
Our collective quest for a game with no variables is sad.
If football is the 'beautiful game' VAR is ugly.
Football is a business to owners, and 1 wrong decision could cost an owner millions of pounds in some cases.
If VAR can correct wrong decisions(like yesterday, the ref made 2 calls and got them wrong, but VAR corrected him) then its great, if it stops arguements, then find sonething else to argue about.
I love football and hate when a match turns because of a dodgy decision.
As it was, the two decisions were spot on and meant an unjust 3-1 score line without VAR would've justly been 2-2 just a couple of minutes later, had Liverpool not missed their penalty.
Says it all really.