7 reasons why VAR is bad for football
In our small lives, there might be one moment when the VAR has destroyed our notions. VAR is something that many people hate and a few love. Those who love VAR usually start to hate it once their favourite team’s goal is disallowed.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is the new technology that was introduced to the premier league in the 19-20 season. Since then the use of VAR has just been rising. The people who brought up this technology had a firm belief that VAR will end corruption and human errors in football.
Unfortunately, a lot of the decisions made by VAR are doubtful and end up in controversies. New technologies are always welcomed in the world of Football like Goal Line Technology (GLT). Nobody can argue over GLT because it’s easy and it’s simple even for the audience.
There are moments in the match where you might feel the VAR was completely unnecessary.
VAR Premier League Statistics for the 19-20 season:
Total overturns: 109
Leading to goals: 27
Leading to disallowed goals: 56
Penalties awarded: 22 (9 missed)
Penalties overturned: 7 (1 for offside)
Penalties retake: 4 (1 from scored, 3 from missed)
Goals ruled out for offside: 34
Goals awarded after incorrect offside: 8
Goals ruled out for handball: 14
Goals allowed after wrong handball: 2
Red cards: 9
Overturned red cards: 3
7 reasons why VAR is ruining football:
1: Misuse of quality time
Imagine your favourite team in a derby match during injury time needs one goal to equalize. It is 93rd in the added time is +4 min the other team has the possession in the box. The opponent’s striker takes a shot that is blocked by the defender and cleared away on the other end your team’s fastest player has the possession and he is running towards the Goal but suddenly you hear the whistle because the opponent teams claimed the handball and the referee called for the VAR and in the end, there was no handball but now the time is 96th min, your team takes the free-kick the referee blows the whistle and your team loses the most important match of their season.
In football each match is decisive but not all matches can make you throw your TV out and certainly not a derby match.
The players have to wait till the referee makes a decision and in a way, it kills the spirit of the game. Football is the most simple and smooth game which is why people around the world love football. Nobody likes to wait at least when they are in a match.
2: Referees are losing credibility
Since the implementation of VAR, there have been a lot of moments where players doubt and request a VAR decision. This has been increasing the conflict between the players and referees onfield. Referees are receiving a lot of hate over their judgments. It is not possible for a referee to use the VAR every time he is asked to and we like it more when refereeing is done on the referee’s intuition in the old classic way.
3: Fans are ignorant
For viewers watching from their home on a TV, it won’t be that hard to understand if a VAR has been done because we are watching replays of the event but for the actual viewers, it might be confusing. No replay means no way of knowing what happened or is the decision precise.
Imagine being in a filled stadium one moment you are celebrating the goal and the other moment the goal has been disallowed. It’s okay if you know the reason why but not okay when you are with 40-60k people.
4: VAR can be corrupt too
Some matches are just unforgettable. There have been moments where the VAR rulings were controversial. It could be the referee misconceived it or it was done on purpose. If this is happening anywhere then the whole point of VAR is a big waste. Usually, this is not the case but there have been matches like this where every fan must’ve shouted at the ref at least once in their lifetime about the decision they take after the VAR check.
26 October – Brighton 3-2 Everton
In the 77th minute, a penalty was given to the hosts by VAR for a ‘foul’ by visiting defender Michael Keane on home striker Aaron Connolly. Neal Maupay converted from the spot for 2-2.
27 October – Norwich 1-3 Man Utd
Manchester United was awarded a first-half penalty by VAR after a collision between winger Daniel James and home defender Ben Godfrey. Marcus Rashford saw his penalty saved by Tim Krul.
27 October – Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace
Gunners defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos converted from close range and thought he had won the game for Arsenal late on, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for Calum Chambers ‘foul’ on Luka Milivojevic in the box.
2 November – Watford 1-2 Chelsea
A penalty was awarded to the Hornets by VAR after Gerard Deulofeu went down under a challenge from Jorginho with minimal contact. Deulofeu scored the spot-kick.
As I have said earlier VAR is good only if it is in your favour.
5: Slaughter the flow of the game
Many times the players have to wait because the referee has to go and check the replays from a screen which might be far from him from where he’s standing. Making a decision is not an easy task hence this requires time leading to the break of play between the players.
This can lead to a loss of morale for the players as they have to wait there to hear opponent players and if it is an away match they might also get hate from some of the spectators.
6: Controversy machine
If you are a Real Madrid fan or a Manchester United fan and if it’s a (derby/Classico) you might know how many questions arise because of VAR. In big matches, there are many moments where VAR is not used despite heated requests from the players. All this leads to extra controversies. There should be more transparency in the VAR system and when to use it and when to deny it.
7: Can’t be too happy too early
Players and fans both are troubled by cancelled goals. We can’t imagine what a player feels when the goal which he has already celebrated has been ruled out. Think of those fans who are screaming and throwing champagne away when they realize their team is not winning because the great goal which their favourite player scored has been ruled out. I can’t think of them cause it’s a disaster to go through something like that.
A goal means everything to a football fan and if that happiness is taken away I wonder many true football fans might want to watch the game again in the stadium, many will prefer watching over their TV.
Conclusion :
We all want the same thing which is the decision made should be 100% accurate. We want to concentrate on individual players and the skills they do rather than being in referee mode throughout the match.
Football is a free-flowing game and that’s the way it should stay. If a millimetre or two can disallow a goal and end the spirit of football then I don’t think it is the best choice for the sport.
We love the beautiful game and for now, no changes are required.
Totally agree VAR is a waste of time!