Ref Watch

[Harvster]

Funny how VAR has got even worse now Lee Mason’s at the wheel

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Funny how VAR has got even worse now Lee Mason’s at the wheel

Isn’t it Webb?

You're baldist.

 

[Harvster]

Isn’t it Webb?

You're baldist.

Many apologies to all baldies out there

Can’t believe I’ve somehow been dragged into apologising to myself

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Many apologies to all baldies out there

Can’t believe I’ve somehow been dragged into apologising to myself

 

[Vic]

Not really. And the frequency of “mistakes” appears to be increasing with the new batch of officials and *certain* members of the old guard taking over VAR.

Of course, it’s all incompetence, nothing more, and will continue to be merely incompetence, even if it becomes a feature of every match in the future.

After all, the league have no power whatsoever to address the incompetence or make officiating (including VAR) more transparent. If they could, they would, but they can’t. The incompetence is a force of nature; human error—no matter how prevalent or egregious or seemingly mitigatible to reasonable observers—cannot be fixed.

It is a force of nature in football.

Inmutable. Unassailable. Eternal.

We fans must except this and understand the league are powerless to oppose it.

Accept what?

Accept human error, certainly. Accept that VAR can correct wrong decisions, certainly.

Accept that the VAR can't get it wrong - hardly, the VAR is human.

Accept that it can't be more transparent, absolutely not. MLS review the controversial decisions. And MLS will admit after-the-event when ref and VAR together haven't got it right.

Howard Webb on how MLS is getting VAR right and what other leagues can learn

If there's one man to speak to about VAR, it's Howard Webb. ESPN talks to the head of referees in MLS about why it's viewed as successful.

www.espn.co.uk

 

[SebastianBlue]

Accept what?

Accept human error, certainly. Accept that VAR can correct wrong decisions, certainly.

Accept that the VAR can't get it wrong - hardly, the VAR is human.

Accept that it can't be more transparent, absolutely not. MLS review the controversial decisions (and before you ask, I don't know how "accurate" the offside lines are that PGMOL draws and it seems obvious that the frame speed makes it hard to determine the moment when the ball is "played". And MLS will admit after-the-event when ref and VAR together haven't got it right.

My tongue was planted firmly in my cheek for that post.

 

[The Future’s Blue!]

As relevant as the last 20 or so pages.

Keeps the thread going and people debating, even if it is going over the same ground.

 

[crazyg]

Keeps the thread going and people debating, even if it is going over the same ground.

Agreed. There's a lot of mass debaters on this thread.

 

[halfcenturyup]

Agreed. There's a lot of mass debaters on this thread.

Working on commission from @Ric I think, now the transfer window is closed.

 

[1961_vintage]

The strategy has been clear from the outset. They didn't want it, but could no longer resist the pressure for it to be introduced, so did so in such an appalling way as to create the hysteria to have it removed in the hope that gullible fans would welcome a return to the "good old days".

So keep it - but first kick-out the twats who are responsible for this shit-show of an implementation.

And whatever happens, keep the grubby, greedy bastards at sky and the broader media well away, including any ex-pros such as those employed as so-called experts and pundits.