VAR Discussion Thread | 2024/25

[its a Barm]

to put the last few pages in to plain speak VAR is wank

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

I think there's something in what you say. It doesn't need to be seen as a “conspiracy” though. I think it's just instinctive corporate solidarity at work, it happens in a lot of professions when an “outsider” is seen to be looking on.

It becomes a conspiracy the moment the authorities knowingly cover up a mistake that has huge financial consequences (such as a team missing out on a Champions League place, or a league title).

 

[BlueHammer85]

to put the last few pages in to plain speak VAR is wank

Nope, last few pages has just been waffle by a poster saying VAR has ruined the game despite agreeing with the decision being left to the onfield ref.

 

[Sir peace frog]

imo he meant to hurt the liverpool player , it was a dreadful tackle, getting the ball or not he could of easily snapped his leg to say he got the ball first has fuck all to do with it, he endangered the liverpool player and should of been sent off.

Dont like Var never have done,has killed the instant joy of scoring,

 

[Nellies left peg]

to put the last few pages in to plain speak VAR is wank

It’s not VAR it’s the fucking useless wankers using it. The officials in this country must be amongst the worst anywhere. TMOs in rugby union are quick decisive and pretty much always get the decision right

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

The over reaction is caused by social media and games being played nearly every day, before this may have been debated on MOTD for a couple mins or forgotten altogether - now we have endless channels, refs in a studio, twitter sharing clips on every incident - it’s not the fault of Var which you admit was right not to get involved - it’s the constant outrage that’s being amplified all over the place all the time. With or without VAR this is a problem in ‘modern football’ it was happening just prior Var with the rise of social media.

Here's an example of how I think the game has been changed... I went to see Crewe play the other night. The ref was atrocious. But, corners just happened. No VAR meant they just got on with it, no playing for VAR fouls. Player fouls... the ref decision was final. Players, fans, we all knew where we stood. Contentious goal, the ref and lino got together and made a decision.... 45 seconds it took!
In the VAR world that is :
1 - check for foul throw.
2 - check for offside.
3 - check for foul on player.
4 - check again for another offside...
5 - recheck again from a different angle...
3, 4 or 5 minutes of not knowing is going on followed by an obscure (and very possibly) an incorrect decision cancelling the goal.
6 - Media autopsy on if the decision was correct.
7 - fans asking for a PGMOL apology.
They've opened a pandoras box of never ending decision making and analysing. They should have kept it simple.

Basically what we saw, was what was reffed, which is important. Fans don't like the feeling of no control, we don't like that yet another ref, this time with a microscope, can make re-make those decisions, random decisions, unrequired decisions, that change the course of the game.

And afterwards we all went home moaning about the ref, and that was it. No VAR conspiracy bollocks, no mention of PGMOL or whoever the equivalent is.. No feeling of football gone mad...And certainly no one asking for VAR to be brought in to stop these refs mistakes.
The ref was atrocious. He will have to improve if he wants to keep his career. But even that in the VAR world, refs improving... There's no need VAR will pick up where they make mistakes. I genuinely think Refs are being trained on VAR use as much as they are on technically refereeing the game in front of them.

You could put that all down to the level Crewe are playing at compared to the PL, but I think fans at all levels know what they want and it plainly isnt VAR.

 

[spider blue]

Here's an example of how I think the game has been changed... I went to see Crewe play the other night. The ref was atrocious. But, corners just happened. No VAR meant they just got on with it, no playing for VAR fouls. Player fouls... the ref decision was final. Players, fans, we all knew where we stood. Contentious goal, the ref and lino got together and made a decision.... 45 seconds it took!
In the VAR world that is :
1 - check for foul throw.
2 - check for offside.
3 - check for foul on player.
4 - check again for another offside...
5 - recheck again from a different angle...
3, 4 or 5 minutes of not knowing is going on followed by an obscure (and very possibly) an incorrect decision cancelling the goal.
6 - Media autopsy on if the decision was correct.
7 - fans asking for a PGMOL apology.
They've opened a pandoras box of never ending decision making and analysing. They should have kept it simple.

Basically what we saw, was what was reffed, which is important. Fans don't like the feeling of no control, we don't like that yet another ref, this time with a microscope, can make re-make those decisions, random decisions, unrequired decisions, that change the course of the game.

And afterwards we all went home moaning about the ref, and that was it. No VAR conspiracy bollocks, no mention of PGMOL or whoever the equivalent is.. No feeling of football gone mad...And certainly no one asking for VAR to be brought in to stop these refs mistakes.
The ref was atrocious. He will have to improve if he wants to keep his career. But even that in the VAR world, refs improving... There's no need VAR will pick up where they make mistakes. I genuinely think Refs are being trained on VAR use as much as they are on technically refereeing the game in front of them.

You could put that all down to the level Crewe are playing at compared to the PL, but I think fans at all levels know what they want and it plainly isnt VAR.

For me your spot on mate, my dislike of VAR is slowly turning me off football all together.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

For me your spot on mate, my dislike of VAR is slowly turning me off football all together.

Same here. It feels like they are remaking it for a TV audience with VAR and other stuff. It is for the fans at the game, they pay through the nose.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I wanted VAR to be the check that the result of a game reflected what had happened on the pitch. But VAR came along when IFAB and the whistling wankers from PiGMOL started fuckin' up the LotG and changing them on a weekly if not match basis. They tied themselves in knots particularly with the handball rule where fans could see no difference between a handball that culminated in a pen and one which didn't! I look upon VAR now as nothing more than a lottery and where the VAR wallahs in their techno-shed look to scrub off goals depending, and it not always depends on what's written in the LotG that determine a VAR outcome. VAR should have delivered results from a game, when called upon, that fitted with the written laws.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

What does everyone think, if VAR wasnt a thing, never existed, what would the referee have decided with that Tarkowski tackle in the heat of the moment? IE not knowing that VAR will pick it up if he is wrong. I think he would have given it tbh. Its even changed the way refs think.

 

[wattle]

What does everyone think, if VAR wasnt a thing, never existed, what would the referee have decided with that Tarkowski tackle in the heat of the moment? IE not knowing that VAR will pick it up if he is wrong. I think he would have given it tbh. Its even changed the way refs think.

This is exactly my point from the start. Refs ref totally different now since VAR. There are more wrong on field decisions now because they know VAR 'should' make the decision for them in tight calls so they bottle it. Tarkowski would have been sent off no doubt at all last night if VAR was not in place.

 

[Gorton_Tubster]

This is exactly my point from the start. Refs ref totally different now since VAR. There are more wrong on field decisions now because they know VAR 'should' make the decision for them in tight calls so they bottle it. Tarkowski would have been sent off no doubt at all last night if VAR was not in place.

Same here. VAR is changing the game for the worse I think.

 

[BlueHammer85]

This is exactly my point from the start. Refs ref totally different now since VAR. There are more wrong on field decisions now because they know VAR 'should' make the decision for them in tight calls so they bottle it. Tarkowski would have been sent off no doubt at all last night if VAR was not in place.

Amazing how spot on the refs were pre VAR aye.

 

[TheBlueCat]

It’s not VAR it’s the fucking useless wankers using it. The officials in this country must be amongst the worst anywhere. TMOs in rugby union are quick decisive and pretty much always get the decision right

Rugby’s rules are largely not based on interpretation. They are black and white. This is the basis of TMOs success.
Football is based mainly on interpretation (intent). This leads to inconsistency. How to gauge intent? Hence, ridiculous guidelines on handball, ie natural positioning etc. Without going full tin foil hat, VAR facilitates further interpretation, that feels, often, corrupt.
VAR (and goal line tech) is most successful without human decision. Once that is introduced, it is open to, if desired, corruption. This has proved dangerously inconsistent, leading to numerous cries of corruption. What is clear is it allows corrupt behaviour relatively easily.
I could not be more against VAR. It gives opportunity to those with no integrity to influence the outcome with plenty of camouflage to hide behind.
I could always live with a shit decision and we get them anyway with VAR.

 

[TheBlueCat]

Let us not forget that the EPL is so intrinsically linked to TV that it has almost become an entertainment entity rather than a sport.
Entertainment directors would do almost anything to make the ‘game’ more interesting..

I hate VAR. It is the enemy of sporting contest.

 

[Gordyola]

Amazing how spot on the refs were pre VAR aye.

And VAR has improved the game no end in your head only How the fuck was the Chelsea player offside this evening absolutely nonsense to disallow it and take over four minutes to decide
If VAR have to use freeze frame slow motion and related looks take minutes to decide to ask the ref to change his mind HOW is it clear and obvious

 

[Gordyola]

Clear and obvious error by the Lino to give a goal kick instead of a Connor which Spurs may have scored from why isn’t VAR looking at that?!

 

[BlueHammer85]

Clear and obvious error by the Lino to give a goal kick instead of a Connor which Spurs may have scored from why isn’t VAR looking at that?!

because everyone cries and moans when VAR gets involved - that’s why.
And yes this is further proof officials just get constant basic decisions wrong all the time - why the fuck can we just not have some tech to help the refs for this type of blatant decisions ?
I get there’s still times even with VAR the outcome is deemed wrong - and I’m as infuriated about that as anyone, but at least with VAR we have more of a chance of a correct outcome - that corner kick was so obvious to Chelsea, how come it’s fair that millions of us can watch it on the screen and know within seconds it should be a corner yet a lino gets it completely wrong and we have to stick with that.
I don’t like VAR, I wish we didn’t need it - but in my opinion we simply do, officials miss the most obvious decisions constantly without VAR - some are ok with that, some are happy about that, i never will be.

 

[Gordyola]

because everyone cries and moans when VAR gets involved - that’s why.
And yes this is further proof officials just get constant basic decisions wrong all the time - why the fuck can we just not have some tech to help the refs for this type of blatant decisions ?
I get there’s still times even with VAR the outcome is deemed wrong - and I’m as infuriated about that as anyone, but at least with VAR we have more of a chance of a correct outcome - that corner kick was so obvious to Chelsea, how come it’s fair that millions of us can watch it on the screen and know within seconds it should be a corner yet a lino gets it completely wrong and we have to stick with that.
I don’t like VAR, I wish we didn’t need it - but in my opinion we simply do, officials miss the most obvious decisions constantly without VAR - some are ok with that, some are happy about that, i never will be.

They don't miss them they don’t see them, and then VAR decides that it’s not clear and obvious It’s the same as a player making a mistake missing an open goal it can’t be perfect it’s a game played by humans officiated by humans who make mistakes and for me that is fine VAR has made it worse Offside was meant to stop “goal hanging” it’s not goal hanging being mm in front of an opponent that’s utter nonsense and we see good goals disallowed

 

[BlueHammer85]

They don't miss them they don’t see them, and then VAR decides that it’s not clear and obvious It’s the same as a player making a mistake missing an open goal it can’t be perfect it’s a game played by humans officiated by humans who make mistakes and for me that is fine VAR has made it worse Offside was meant to stop “goal hanging” it’s not goal hanging being mm in front of an opponent that’s utter nonsense and we see good goals disallowed

we had perfectly good goals ruled out all the time without VAR, players onside and flagged off and not given. I don't like to see great goals ruled out as a player is fractionally offside - happy to allow a limit of some sort or different interpretation for more leeway. Hoping automated makes the decisions alot quicker on offsides. More being left to onfield decision and faster outcomes for offsides is what everyone wants - but the moaning will never stop either way.