[Football] VAR, too far?

[rippleman]

I would give Bissouma a yellow for that as well.

Save the red cards for malicious intents. If you try to kick the ball but kick a player, its just a free kick or a yellow as I see it.

What you would give, and what the Laws of the game instruct that a referee must give are not necessarily the same thing.

I thought you were a bit of a student of the game but now I wonder! Here is the relevant extract from the Laws:-

SERIOUS FOUL PLAY

A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.

Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

And the punishment for Serious Foul Play is a red card.

I hope that clears things up.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

What you would give, and what the Laws of the game instruct that a referee must give are not necessarily the same thing.

I thought you were a bit of a student of the game but now I wonder! Here is the relevant extract from the Laws:-

SERIOUS FOUL PLAY

A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.

Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

And the punishment for Serious Foul Play is a red card.

I hope that clears things up.

And the wording of the law quite deliberately doesn't require the referee to try to infer the intention of the player. I suppose because the intention isn't always obvious. Even in this quite extreme example, there are people arguing both ways.

I think the current wording is spot on. The effect of it is that every player has a duty to look after the safety of everyone else on the pitch. You can't just fly in from miles out and claim you were trying to play the ball

 

[Braggfan]

I would be perfectly happy to get rid of VAR and accept that ref's sometimes get it wrong, even if it meant we don't get penalty's like at the weekend.

 

[Swansman]

What you would give, and what the Laws of the game instruct that a referee must give are not necessarily the same thing.

I thought you were a bit of a student of the game but now I wonder! Here is the relevant extract from the Laws:-

SERIOUS FOUL PLAY

A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.

Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.

And the punishment for Serious Foul Play is a red card.

I hope that clears things up.

What does that rule have to do with a failed attempted shot like yesterday or Bissouma trying to backheel the ball but hitting a player? Challenges or tackles?

Anyway, are you saying that the ref didnt study the laws of the game either? Or is there a possibility that there are multiple ways to interpretate the law book?

I'm in agreement with the professional referee on this one - its a yellow, whereas people who would give CP eleven red cards upon arrival say its a red. If it was about Pascal Gross rather than James McArthur, I'm pretty sure the poll results and opinions would be quite different.

 

[dazzer6666]

It’s much better this season. Game is flowing and ‘refs call’ is basically being observed unless it’s a howler and it’s far less intrusive than it was last season. As fans we’ve got to retrain ourselves a bit to how it’s now being applied after last season where everything was forensically checked. We’ll win some and lose some (already had several that would have resulted in different outcomes last season) but I much prefer the lighter touch we now have.

 

[tronnogull]

I would be perfectly happy to get rid of VAR and accept that ref's sometimes get it wrong, even if it meant we don't get penalty's like at the weekend.

Totally agree. VAR is better this season because it is keeping out of things more than it used to. It would be even better if it didn't exist at all. Its negative effect on the match experience is much greater than the positive effect that would come from correcting the very few refereeing howlers that occur.

 

[Seagull58]

Would scrap it all together.



https://streamable.com/h20g3k - Its beyond me how someone can think McArthur wasnt trying to play the ball. When the ball is coming out to him from the penalty area and he is preparing for the shot, Saka is still behind him and then when the ball dips down, Saka has just moved in front of him. There is just no chance he is (trying to) go for anything other than the ball.

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I agree. Watching it last night I thought it was obvious he was swinging at the ball and Saka ran in front of him. I suppose he had to get a yellow because of the contact but there was no intent to kick the player.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

It can’t be calibrated to produce outcomes everyone agrees with. It’s either light touch or OTT. I don’t see a middle way.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Could anyone have foreseen 'we' would spend last season complaining about heavy handed VAR.

Then this season complaining about light touch VAR....









...oh yes that's right - everybody could see this coming.

Best laugh of the day. Top work

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It can’t be calibrated to produce outcomes everyone agrees with. It’s either light touch or OTT. I don’t see a middle way.

I'd like to think that as with many other aspects of life there is a middle way. Despite my initial suspicion it was being sabotaged by the refs, now they have re-established that they make the decisions, things are better. But some tweaks to the rules are need, and will be made because change now seems to be an accepted part of the governance. For example, Salah will be ruled offiside (if the same happens again next season) after the next tweak since everyone can see the rule (not 'offside' if not 'interfering with play') is poor. The feast is moveable.