VAR was introduced into the premier league with aspirations of removing human error and wrong decisions from football. We are only at week 13 of the season and it has been already been made clear that VAR in its current state will not succeed in resolving the issues it set out to, in fact it has created even more controversy than what there already was.
The concept of having the right decisions and eliminating potential game deciding errors is one I support fully. However with the rising number of penalties not being checked and offside decisions being given such as in the Sheffield United vs Tottenham game last weekend. I and many others believe VAR should either be scrapped or a serious overhaul of the rules and application of the VAR system. There are many other sports which apply a VAR/TMO system, such as Rugby, cricket, NFL and NBA have means to go about checking to make sure the right decision has been given. However the argument that fans of football use to destroy VAR is that it kills the enjoyment in the stadium and stops people celebrating goals for the fear of a VAR decision going the opposition’s way. I try my best to watch as much of the premier league as possible and I am still yet to see a team score and not celebrate out of suspicion of a potential offside or handball being given.
Personally I do agree with the complaint that fans are left in the dark when the VAR checks are taking place, especially in stadiums without screens such as Old Trafford. A simple first step could be taken to resolve this issue, by giving the referees microphones. This would help as the fans could hear what is being checked and why a goal may not be given. This system has been utilised in rugby for years and has greatly helped the fans be more understanding of why a try may or may not be given. Also a clarification of rules like offside would greatly help as it would reduce the number of narrow offsides given and potential goals denied due to a player’s hand being past the last defender e.g. Lundstram and Firmino’s decisions that went against them.
Finally I would like to again compare to the other sports where their VAR system is embedded into each match and is made an event at games. The fans of other sports cheer and chant when a decision gets checked, where as in football it is met with hostility. In time VAR will be accepted in football and I hope it does but it has a long way to go to even get the simple decisions right.
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