I initially welcomed the introduction of VAR, naively thinking it would enhance the game and eliminate any potential bias from refs as their decisions would face greater scrutiny. The precise opposite has happened though, as many predicted it would, and there is now far more opportunity for officials to influence games as they see fit. The explanation given yesterday for the Alexander-Arnold handball (that his arm was in a "natural" position) is an insult to fans' intelligence, and the haste with which they concluded that Salah was onside makes a mockery of the system. I'm absolutely certain that if those two calls had been the other way around, Liverpool would've been awarded the penalty and the goal for us would have been judged offside.
Precisely how I see it.
I accepted from the very start of the season, that we will not win the league this season. VAR is the reason why.
That is not to say that we have not been playing good enough for long periods. It's just that the same uneven application of the rules that we have seen in Europe was obviously going to be applied in the PL.
Our club manager and players know we are reffed differently and that isn't saying that other teams don't get hard done by either.
It is more a case of the PL Championship being managed and overseen.
Small influences can have big impact.
It's got to the stage with me, that I can't be bothered arguing the toss with the Liverpool heads in work.
I just say, we can't defend, it's being coming. Otherwise it just sounds like whining.
It's like arguing over Trump in America, or even Johnson closer to home.
If you can't see what is going on or are trying to defend it, then I've really no interest in educating those that don't want to be educated.
The game is far more influenced off the field these days than on it.
We have been so good in the past that they still couldn't take it away from us.
Now we are not as good and they have an extra tool in their armoury. VAR.
Football is just a product, not a sport. The fun is going out of it, for me.
