VAR

That chant that Mezet Ozils eyes are offside now seems to have some merit.

 

I said last week that because Firmino's goal was called offside on the pitch it wasn't clear and obvious at first glance to reverse it. It was inches either way at best so I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

So what happens yesterday, Sheffield United score a goal that is given, everyone is on the pitch setup to kick off. 3 and a half minutes later VAR decided that in the phase prior to the goal (a Spurs player actually played the ball between the offside and the goal) that Sheffield United were offside.

It's a load of bollocks, last week the benefit of the doubt was given due to the call on the field, now the call on the field was goal and yet they claim clear and obvious evidence of an offside.

Get rid of it.

 

Sheffield united denied a great goal by VAR, in the build up they declared a players toe nail was offside, Madness that will kill the game

 

They were never going to reverse the goal after it has been scored.

 

He was miles onside. Stones foot was comfortably half a foot ahead.

 

I read this morning that there is a meeting with Prem clubs on Thursday to discuss the whole thing. Clearly not working as intended.

 

Will they have a choice now though? I bet FIFA and UEFA are adamant that VAR will work, so they’ll want all the major leagues to have it.

 

The PL meeting as far as I understand it is the Clubs will insist the ref on the spot makes the decision (after reviewing on the pitchside monitor)

 

@WilsdenBantam will they have to see it out to the end of the season now anyway? @Interested Bystander - what's the feeling among the crowds, you will have experienced a few first hand but the booing is telling a story.

 

It's pretty simple.

You go with the decision on the field unless you see clear evidence that the decision on the field is wrong, and you have 30 second to give the decision. Lets be honest if there is clear evidence that the decision is wrong you can see it straight away.

Example.

Arsenal score a goal at old Trafford that is given off-side, Harry Maguire is clearly playing everyone on by about 4 yards = clear and obvious.

Sheffield United at Spurs, goal is score VAR takes it back two phases of play, take 3min 40sec to come up with a decision = not clear and obvious if even wrong at all.

In Cricket they have umpires call, where if there is an element of doubt it goes with the call on the pitch, it works and it is simple. The thing is Cricket allows for 5 minute stoppages, football doesn't so it needs to cap these decisions timewise.

 

I think they will yes.

 

They’ve backed themselves into a corner with the offside checking bit as offside is in theory a black and white decision with zero subjectivity, in that you’re either positionally offside or you’re not. So, regardless of how small the margin is, for consistency they have to go to that level. Doesn’t make it right and agree with @SimonW that the tech doesn’t seem up to speed with frame rates etc.

Currently with VAR, assistants are told where it’s close to keep the flag down and VAR can then decide if offside if a goal’s scored - you could revert to assistants making their call each time and allowing them, say, half a yard of the equivalent of umpire’s call in cricket. But the EPL teams would no doubt complain about that too, as goals would then start getting scored again which are marginally offside, so clubs would moan about it being a billion-pound industry, can’t afford to get those calls wrong and so on.

This is partly of the EPL’s own doing collectively - the managers moaned before about the technology being there and not using it. They implement the tech (probably too quickly) as a result, only to be told its now spoiling the game, ‘ridiculous’ offsides only due to big toe etc. I’m not absolving VAR of blame BTW, obviously it’s currently very clunky in how it’s used, time taken for a decision etc.

However, ultimately what do the clubs want? Putting the frame rate issue to one side, in theory ‘perfect’ offside decisions are being made (for example), yet they’re complaining. Penalties are being called where there’s the slightest touch, which previously would have had criticism for not being awarded as ‘the player’s entitled to go down’ - but now there’s criticism.

They look at a subjective handball call yesterday and don’t overturn it - and there are huge complaints. Yet, of the ex-EPL refs consulted, there’s disagreement over the decision (confirming it’s subjective) and if you look at the revised handball laws, the situation yesterday doesn’t neatly fit one way or the other re the handball by Silva just before and whether TAA’s handball fitted the revised criteria given it deflected up off his body first.

Personally I think their aims should be:

- Bring down the review time by any means necessary
- Perhaps insist on pitch side monitoring so that it’s the on-field ref making the call for consistency rather than third party, albeit that potentially creates an issue re length of time to review
- Definitive steer to all on what ‘clear and obvious’ actually means i.e. what is the criteria for reversing a decision
- Acceptance by all that any review can’t be as immediate as say tennis or cricket, as those are sports with natural and frequent pauses in play and for the most part are objective calls e.g. in our out in tennis - and that introducing this in football inevitably will have impacts on flow of the game.

 

Man City penalty for handball ignored by VAR as Liverpool ran down the other end and scored. As the punters said on MOTD: they knew this would happen and it happened in the most important game of the season and they were never going to overturn that after Liverpool scored. So why are we bothering with VAR if they are scared to use what it tells them?

 

If it continues in its present implementation, the game experience as a spectator is totally ruined.
The idea that it rectifies "clear & obvious mistakes" is fair enough, BUT 3 minutes to determine a players armpit is offside, going back through phases makes a complete nonsense of the aim.
Over the weeks more and more fans around us are beginning to doubt they'll renew, though the way we're playing might have a bit to do with it.

 

I think that was the concern of most fans, we kept hearing it does this and that in other sports but most sports it doesn't matter with the likes of Rugby, Cricket, American Football, buy hey were only the paying public.