[Football] VAR April 2023 Poll - Fit for Purpose?

[Guinness Boy]

It never has been fit for purpose. It has magnified controversy surrounding decision making by referees as now virtually nobody accepts decisions made against them and moves on. It was supposed to remove cheating but has failed on that score as well. We are told that it is all the fault of the operators but no suggestions ever of who could replace them. The best refs in the country all need to be sacked apparently and replaced by….err no clue. If you as a fan want to watch the free flowing football a lot of us experienced when we first got into the game then it can only be found in the lower league VAR free zone.

As we're constantly told on here by some that VAR works abroad then maybe fly in teams of foreign refs? It's not like the Premier League isn't dripping in money and seeing teams take 40 minute flights to get to away games anyway. Sort your shit out Stuart or you're getting replaced by Carlos from Valencia. Let's hope the bloke at the Job Centre isn't a Brighton fan.

 

[BN41Albion]

Did the OP ever think this poll would go any other way after Saturday's debacle?!

 

[Icy Gull]

How many people are in the room where the VAR decisions are made and how many have a say in the decisions made? I cannot accept that Mitoma penalty could possibly have been missed with the replays available. VAR is definitely not the problem here, and it’s moronic to say the technology is not fit for purpose, of course it is. Anyone out there who saw the replay of the stamp on Mitoma in doubt it was a penalty? No, because the images from VAR show it was, no argument at all.

As I said on the day, I can ALMOST accept the two disallowed goals but not the Mitoma penalty.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Did the OP ever think this poll would go any other way after Saturday's debacle?!

Of course not.

I'm just highlighting I was right. (I know I don't win the Internet).

In reality it's here to stay but I don't see any reason to stop pressure on message boards and social media. People read this stuff and if every club is saying how bad VAR is for the fans you'd hope they'd at least try and improve it.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

As we're constantly told on here by some that VAR works abroad then maybe fly in teams of foreign refs? It's not like the Premier League isn't dripping in money and seeing teams take 40 minute flights to get to away games anyway. Sort your shit out Stuart or you're getting replaced by Carlos from Valencia. Let's hope the bloke at the Job Centre isn't a Brighton fan.

Except that is a bit of a myth. There is VAR controversy abroad. As I mentioned on another thread, foreign refs won’t stop the corruption allegations. Football and money are global games. What VAR has done is make fans believe they are utterly right. In the past they would have had a bit of a moan and then mostly moved on. Football at the top level is now eating itself with outrage as VAR exposes the game as subjective. There is nothing objective in it apart from goal line decisions and basic respect for the officials does not exist, which is why comparisons with other sports don’t work.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Reasonable idea, badly implemented, evolved to be even worse than what came before it. Driving true football fans away.

 

[Silverhatch]

There’s nothing wrong with the technology, as tennis, rugby and cricket show.
Those using it, however!

Sorry but this is a tired old trope.

What Technology is being applied? The lack of technology IS the problem.

Goal-Decision system has some technology and semi-automated Offside has been trialled, but not as yet adopted.

Until technology exists to rule out interpretive, non-binary decisions in the non-linear, chaotic team game called football - then VAR is f***ed

 

[Bold Seagull]

No amount of technology is changing the scenario of looking at the first replay and seeing Mitoma’s foot being trod on.

The technology is poor for offsides because when it’s really tight, the frame chosen for the ball leaving the passer, the thickness of the of the lines and where they’re drawn from is far from accurate enough.

Where cricket got LBW right as a similar thing to offside, is working in a margin of error - more than half the ball needs to be shown to hitting the stumps to overturn the onfield. And yes it might be 1mm of half the ball but at that point half the ball is already hitting, so cricket accepts that margin.

Cricket, tennis and rugby also don’t have those limbs everywhere moments of absolute joy a goal can bring. VAR’s main purpose appears to be to kill that out of the game.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Always been anti. It’s never, ever going to work in football as there are too many subjective calls. The people who say the VAR is fine but it’s the people running it are missing the point. VAR is the problem as until we have a world run by robots, humans will always have to make the final decisions and well, they’re human. As we’ve seen, even handball and offside is open to interpretation.

Technology is fine for goal line technology as that is black and white but that’s all it should be used for along with maybe mistaken identity for red cards etc.

Add in the ridiculous delays and the joy it takes away from celeberations etc, VAR is an absolute disaster and should be scrapped ASAP.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It’s not VAR, it’s the morons running it. Showing the action on multiple cameras is no use if the bloke in the seat is incompetent. Don’t use refs with “skin in the game”, use ex-pros or former refs.

I think VAR has a place in elite football but it’s become a total farce in England. I really do think the simple idea of giving the benefit of doubt to the attacker would improve things immensely. No more offsides for armpits, Mitoma’s goal would have been given, as would have Welbeck’s.

On these latter two points I have seen multiple slow-mos and it’s difficult to say conclusively either were handball…..no problem just give the benefit to the attacking team. And if one is to actually follow the laws to the letter if you don’t have conclusive proof you can’t give it Anyway.

 

[5Ways Gull]

There’s nothing wrong with the technology, as tennis, rugby and cricket show.
Those using it, however!

Absolutely this. All HW needs to do is sit everyone down and explain that VAR should only be used to correct glaring obvious errors, rather than examining every single action in minute detail to see if there's anything they can f*ck up!!

 

[5Ways Gull]

it's not a systemic issue, it the people!

 

[Icy Gull]

Absolutely this. All HW needs to do is sit everyone down and explain that VAR should only be used to correct glaring obvious errors, rather than examining every single action in minute detail to see if there's anything they can f*ck up!!

Nailed it for me, if it takes more than a few seconds it’s not a glaring error so leave the decision as given

 

[Hamilton]

Surely there is nothing wrong with VAR as a technology. It’s the officials. The standard of officiating is pretty poor, with inconsistent and incorrect decisions being made every week.

All the while that there is no accountability or transparency we’ll continue to suffer. Officials should be made to explain their decisions in post match interviews. We should be allowed to hear the discussions between VAR officials and the officials on the pitch.

It doesn’t stop with VAR. Our officials are sometimes too petty and often too weak, failing to deal with really poor behaviour on the pitch (bad mouthing, time wasting etc) and then insisting on minor infringements stopping a game, such as a free kick being in a marginally incorrect position in your own defensive half.

We’ve all see some good refereeing performances, but too many poor decisions. If anything VAR has exacerbated this because it puts the decision of the officials more firmly under the spotlight. That said, there are more eyes on the game now and it’s frustrating that they can’t get this right. I’d keep VAR and have a clear out of officials, perhaps even bringing in some from other leagues - let’s do what the PL have done and recruit the best refs.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Sorry but this is a tired old trope.

What Technology is being applied? The lack of technology IS the problem.

Goal-Decision system has some technology and semi-automated Offside has been trialled, but not as yet adopted.

Until technology exists to rule out interpretive, non-binary decisions in the non-linear, chaotic team game called football - then VAR is f***ed

What technology?

I appreciate the fact that I’m old, but cameras, angles, transmission, reception, replays at various speeds are technology.

 

[el punal]

I’ve got to the stage where I long for the days of on-field decisions made by the ref and linesmen only. Okay, some may be incorrect but at least we won’t suffer the debacle of officiating at the Spurs and Palace games. The only technology I would support is that required on the goal line.

Many on here have stated that there is nothing wrong with VAR - just the people that operate it that make the errors. If that’s the case why bother having the system at all.

 

[maltaseagull]

It´s a waste of time.
I am sure if the matches were played without VAR bad decisions would still happen but would probably even out over a season.
VAR has not solved anything. It has ruined the excitement of a goal being scored as you now have to wait 3or 4 minutes to see if there is any way at all that they can disallow the goal.

 

[paulfuzz]

I have heard it said that VAR get more things right than wrong. Not sure how you test that.
Supporters have always bitched about the referee sometimes justified and sometimes not. Split second decisions are not always the most accurate but watching the EFL Championship they seem to get more right than wrong.
When you have minutes to study an incident from several angles and in slow motion getting a decision wrong is indefensible.
The same laws should apply to all levels of football and that can only mean bin VAR and get those referees sitting in their video hub out on to the pitch and into the real world.

 

[m20gull]

No. And it never was. Refereeing decisions are too subjective to be scrutinised in such detail and being declared "correct". Let the human mistakes happen and move on. Watching VAR-free football is a stark reminder what we stadium-going fans have lost, probably forever in the top flight. Makes me sad every time I see it in action.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It's not fit for purpose, at all. But I don't think getting rid of it entirely is the answer.

Indeed. Misleading poll.

Of course it (the VAR rubric, which includes unclear instructions and two oafs 'working' on the day, as well as some cameras) is shart.

But is the way we treat heart disease fit for purpose? No, no it isn't.

Another poll: is the NHS fit for purpose?

I would say that it isn't.

And I am a woke lefty strong supporter of the NHS.

However the polls clearly indicate we should get rid of the NHS. Sell it NOW!

<sigh>