VAR Discussion Thread | 2024/25

[halfcenturyup]

He knew that BEFORE the offside decision even went to VAR. If he hasn't got the balls to give the goal the moment VAR clear the offside he doesn't fucking deserve to be a referee.

Can you imagine a situation where City score and fans celebrate, then it is announced on the screen they are checking for offside. City fans groan and get angry. Then after a minute they announce on the screen there is no offside. City fans cheer with relief (and probably amazement). But the there is another 30 second delay and it is announced on screen the goal has been disallowed for a foul in the build-up. City fans apoplectic.

Who the fuck makes up a procedure like that? It's as if they are deliberately choosing the least effective and most disruptive way of implementing the thing. A complete mess.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

Can you imagine a situation where City score and fans celebrate, then it is announced on the screen they are checking for offside. City fans groan and get angry. Then after a minute they announce on the screen there is no offside. City fans cheer with relief (and probably amazement). But the there is another 30 second delay and it is announced on screen the goal has been disallowed for a foul in the build-up. City sans apoplectic.

Who the fuck makes up a procedure like that? It's as if they are deliberately choosing the least effective and most disruptive way of implementing the thing. A complete mess.

It can't he anything other than on purpose. There is no way they can't run both checks simultaneously, or let the actual referee decide if there was a foul in the build up.

It's fucking nuts that they check one, then the other. And the longer they take, the more I'm convinced they are looking for a reason to deny it rather than clear it.

 

[blueparsman]

For anyone curious, Gallagher did not even discuss the disallowed Lewis goal on Ref Watch, despite it posing some big rules questions (specifically when VAR can and cannot intervene), regardless of whether it was in fact a foul from Haaland.

it was discussed and agreed it was a good decision.

 

[Gazza]

it was discussed and agreed it was a good decision.

TBF when I watched it again Haaland did drag his studs down his thigh, not very hard but a foul all the same.

 

[M23 Citizen]

The semi automated comes in this season doesn’t it ? Don’t know if it was used on Saturday..

We’d stuck with the system we used until now because we’d waited for Genius Sports to come out with their updated system, rather than start using the old Genius system last year and then have to update anyway.

Every Prem ground needs to install all the new cameras. I think it was voted on in April and will be ready for either the September or October international break (can’t remember which one).

 

[M23 Citizen]

We seem to be crawling gradually to more openess with VAR. Shame Webb hasn't the bottle to go for full openess with miked up refs and VAR assistants words being broadcast live. Wonder why he's against this, wonder what hes trying to hide. ?? Lol

It’s FIFA who hold the power over refs not having officials’ mics heard over speakers in stadiums/on tele. Individual referees associations can’t bring that in on their own.

 

[stonerblue]

The Var lovers need not reply. I am getting sick of football being ruined. Even Sky praised our first goal, the interplay was excellent but oh hang on, Bernies toe nail might just have been offside. It ruins the whole experience especially as we had to wait ages for them to decide.
Then we had the offside farce where they attacked, regrouped and attacked again, then a cup of tea before another attack and then the linesman put his flag up. I accept it isn't his fault, it's the order he has been given...... but it is shit.
19 minutes into the new season and I'm fucked off with it.

Yep, just how I felt.

 

[Silva 83]

The thing about it is, if they can get the correct decisions and do it swiftly, then it's for the best.

But much of the time - in the Premier League - they can't even fulfil the above conditions. The amount of times they have taken ages over something that is absolutely clear on replays to us viewers, for example. Probably looking for something else to disallow a goal.

I don't think the technology is it fault - it's the incompetence and arguably bias of those implementing the technology. Personally I wouldn't blame VAR so much as I would say that the officials need to get better at using it. But maybe that is harsh as they have a very hard and thankless job as it is.

I would also suggest that something must be done about the offside rule - toes and toenails are ridiculous. Maybe there should be a degree of daylight - but how do you decide is too much and too little? It does seem awful that great goals are being ruled out for being 'offside' when very little if any advantage was received from it.

By far the biggest drawback of VAR though - for the fans - is the letdown of celebrating a goal and having it taken away.

Ultimately, I would say that football is such a complex game sometimes, with 22 players on the park, 20 generally running and buzzing around, and there's so much that can happen off the ball, on the ball, so much that can be seen to be wrong and for a goal to be ruled out. With a game with so much activity there's plenty that an official can get wrong (or if you wanna be conspiratorial, will want to use to rule out goals for certain sides).

I am still not sure if I am in favour of it or not. In the PL at least, in its current guise, it isn't working. But if people can learn how to use it better, it could be much improved. Bear in mind it's still a relatively new technology as it was first trialed in men's senior football in 2016, I believe.

Video technology works well in other sports e.g. rugby, field hockey, so perhaps football can learn something from those sports.

That's just what I think though and others might disagree.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

What's the actual point of VAR?

Just to clarify, this is not permitted in Rugby.

 

[dadnlad]

We’d stuck with the system we used until now because we’d waited for Genius Sports to come out with their updated system, rather than start using the old Genius system last year and then have to update anyway.

Every Prem ground needs to install all the new cameras. I think it was voted on in April and will be ready for either the September or October international break (can’t remember which one).

I might be bit daft ( ok I'm alot ) but how to they calibrate cameras so every ground is same to make fair with each ground configured with different stands or is it run as 6 cameras at ground X but only 4 at ground Y so tough
And if that's case should be printed down for everyone to know