VAR risks ripping out the soul of why we love football. It is a pursuit of perfection that should not be there.
I will be amazed if VAR is still in the Premier League in a couple of seasons. I just cannot see it working well enough.
Having seen VAR at the Women’s World Cup and in some of the trial games last season, we have to be careful it does not become a farce in the Premier League.
I know a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to make it run smoother than that but my one big grievance with it is that the euphoria of scoring a goal, for players and — more importantly — fans is going to be lost.
It is for those moments that seven-year-olds go to matches with their parents. It is why I went to Liverpool with my old man as a kid, standing alongside 20,000 on the Kop. And it is why I kept going back. Not to wait to see if I can celebrate.
When you play, no words can describe that feeling the moment you score a goal. I think, especially if VAR follows how it did in the Women’s World Cup, that decision is going to be punctuated with a decision that needs to be made before you can celebrate.
That is not what football is for me. That is not what made me fall in love with the game. I don’t see how VAR can avoid taking those magical moments away.
Some will argue that VAR decisions will create new tensions and excitement. Fair enough. But it is not the same excitement as the raw emotion that comes in the moment.
What is it about football that people love? What did I love as a fan, as a player? It is the euphoric moments that not only change a game but change your life at times.
I appreciate that there are vast sums of money involved in football now which rest on the finest of margins and so we need to have as few mistakes as possible but where do we draw the line? Are that many decisions wrong now?
The consequence of bad decisions is that clubs might lose or draw the odd game. The consequence of losing the magic of those moments in football supporters’ lives is a far bigger one — they won’t go.
If I am a fan and I’m being told I have got to wait every time a goal goes in, I am not going.
I am not narrow-minded enough to think that some aspects of technology haven’t improved football but this is one step too far. And the majority of the feedback I have had from fans is that they don’t want it. I am happy to be proven wrong.
But if you are happy to lose those euphoric moments, you are not thinking with your heart. You are ticking boxes about how many decisions you got right.
Football is about creating a unity, a spirit, a euphoria. Waiting for a goal to be awarded on a screen does not do that.
PrabeshDahal
39
In this era of technology of course they will want technology to decide, but the rules havent been completely set and arent being followed all the way, the biggest issue is refs try to find a reason to find a foul or to find if it was or wasnt a foul, which takes up too much time, these decisions are supposed to be quick, if the ref takes more than 1 minute to call something then its a bad call. If they cant find a reason to why they're checking with VAR then the call if void and the play should go on, replays are quick, to show the ref the point of the mistake or the possible foul/penalty it should be instant, it shouldnt take 1 to 5+ minutes each time VAR is checked, it slows the build up play and cuts team momentum which causes teams to have less intensity and brings forth a more boring match to watch. Im all for technology but it shouldnt take more than 30 seconds to check any possible call, if not then call it off and let the play