VAR Discussion Thread | 2024/25

[halfcenturyup]

Fair enough. I don't necessarily have a problem with speeding up the decision to flag for offside by using automation. As always, my problems are in looking for certainty with automation, and for how the technology actually works.

For example, the new system won't be used for "complex and very close" offside calls. Two questions.

Why is the new system not used for very close offside calls? If SAOT is accurate, why not all offside calls? If it isn't accurate to 10cm, why is there no tolerance in any offside decision?

Who determines whether an offside is complex? Artificial intelligence, apparently. Again, we are leaving subjectivity in the hands of the people who develop the technology. I am predicting that, at some point, an offside will be given in a complex situation that shouldn't have been. It's inevitable.

And I am guessing Collina's latest search for absolute truth in offsides will fail. It will either make mistakes, or disappear further and further up its own arse with more and more expensive technology and less and less relevance to the original point of punishing offside players. As it always has so far.

OK, at the risk of replying to myself like a crazy person, I think it's only fair to say that this new offside thing has worked reasonably well at the CWC. You can't tell when it is working, of course, but there have been a couple of occasions, even in the City games, where the linesman has kept his flag down but then raised it after a couple of seconds. At first sight correctly. So credit where it's due. It seems to have been OK so far.

Still plenty of time for a cock-up, though :)

 

[Gordyola]

Think it was last Sundays plastic euro final. Goal ruled out by var after checking if ball went out of play in build up.

Thats always been the case since VAR

 

[Stephen230]

OK, at the risk of replying to myself like a crazy person, I think it's only fair to say that this new offside thing has worked reasonably well at the CWC. You can't tell when it is working, of course, but there have been a couple of occasions, even in the City games, where the linesman has kept his flag down but then raised it after a couple of seconds. At first sight correctly. So credit where it's due. It seems to have been OK so far.

Still plenty of time for a cock-up, though :)

I’ve admittedly watched very little of it apart from the three City games but the 8 second ‘keeper thing seems to be working ok from what I have seen.

Think I read that there was one penalised in one of the early games. But from what I’ve seen, the ‘keepers are just getting on with it.

 

[bluenova]

Starting at the Club World Cup, linesman are going to get a little beep in their ear to tell them that a player is ‘clearly’ in an offside position and they may want to stick their flag up, rather than delay it, if they think an offside offence has been committed.

Some might think that if they’re ‘clearly’ offside, they shouldn’t really need a beep to alert them. But we’ll see if it makes any noticeably difference soon enough.

I was going to ask about this, as I'd suspected it was happening, so handy to see your post. It's been noticeable from the games I'd watched that flags were going up after a slightly odd delay.

It looks to me like they're letting offsides go a little, knowing they'll get the buzz.

 

[stonerblue]

Thats always been the case since VAR

Has it? I have never seen a goal ruled out after var checking for a throw-in

 

[bluenova]

Has it? I have never seen a goal ruled out after var checking for a throw-in

It wouldn't be checking the throw-in, it would be checking the goal. It's happened numerous times, more often for the ball going out behind the goal line, as that's more likely to be just before a goal is scored, but also for throw-ins where there's not a huge amount of play between it going out and the goal.

 

[stonerblue]

It wouldn't be checking the throw-in, it would be checking the goal. It's happened numerous times, more often for the ball going out behind the goal line, as that's more likely to be just before a goal is scored, but also for throw-ins where there's not a huge amount of play between it going out and the goal.

Confused..

 

[bluenova]

Confused..

VAR has a remit to check goals. If the ball goes out of play shortly before the goal was given, and this wasn't noticed by the ref/assistant, then it doesn't stand.

If a goal hadn't been scored, VAR wouldn't have looked at the throw-in.

 

[stonerblue]

VAR has a remit to check goals. If the ball goes out of play shortly before the goal was given, and this wasn't noticed by the ref/assistant, then it doesn't stand.

If a goal hadn't been scored, VAR wouldn't have looked at the throw-in.

In the incident i referred to originally the linesman was right next to the ball and didn't give a throw in. Several passes later a goal was scored. THe var went back to the 'check' for a the throw in, overuled the linesman and disallowed the goal.

 

[bluenova]

In the incident i referred to originally the linesman was right next to the ball and didn't give a throw in. Several passes later a goal was scored. THe var went back to the 'check' for a the throw in, overuled the linesman and disallowed the goal.

Is that not the same as I just said? A goal was scored, so VAR check there wasn't a problem in the build up - whether that's an offside, a foul, or the ball goes out of play.

 

[johnnytapia]

It wouldn't be checking the throw-in, it would be checking the goal. It's happened numerous times, more often for the ball going out behind the goal line, as that's more likely to be just before a goal is scored, but also for throw-ins where there's not a huge amount of play between it going out and the goal.

The 6th Foden scored against United was checked for ball going out for a throw in. It hadn’t, ergo, goal.

 

[BlueMonkey79]

Confused..

This was from a game last season in the premier league. Albeit it wasn't the sideline, the ball went out of play according to VAR. Hence NO GOAL!

How far back they go to check i have no idea.

 

[Gazza]

Has it? I have never seen a goal ruled out after var checking for a throw-in

Not ruled out, but one of Foden's hat-trick goals (in the 6-3) was checked to see if the ball had gone out for a throw in the build up.

 

[hallsteve62]

That 6-3 game still galls me. If Pep hadn't made those subs it really would have been 10!

 

[Coljj]

Pierluigi Collina: Referees’ body cams went “beyond our expectations”

Pierluigi Collina, the Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, says that he is very happy with the refereeing innovations introduced at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, including body cameras for referees.

inside.fifa.com

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

VAR - a great idea and one which I 100% am in favor of in concept - but completely dislike the implementation.

Here's why:
* Artificial Intelligence has reached the point where, with adequate training, it could call every single play subject to VAR. And AI should call all such plays - because this would mean that decisions are immediate, reviewable, and consistent.
* The current scheme of relying on human review of plays is 100% wrong - because decisions will vary from review panel to review panel (introducing inconsistency), and because a panel of humans sometimes makes mistakes (whereas AI can be trained to get better, and better, and better, far surpassing human judgement);
* VAR with human review is far too slow.

Moreover:
AI should call all offsides. Every single one. And on-field refs should not be allowed to call offsides on their own - instead they should immediately raise the offsides flag once AI informs the ref that offsides occured.
===
The above is obviously achievable given AI technology. Make it so!

 

[urban genie]

Adding corners to VAR checks





FFS games will take longer than the NFL at this rate.

Yellow card rule is ok but cannot the goal line tech just be extened conrer to corner rather than VAR replay for 10 mins

 

[richardtheref]

Adding corners to VAR checks





FFS games will take longer than the NFL at this rate.

Yellow card rule is ok but cannot the goal line tech just be extened conrer to corner rather than VAR replay for 10 mins

I have never fully understood why the 2nd yellow card has not been allowed to be reviewed. After all a 2nd yellow, in affect, becomes a red card offence

 

[Champions again in 2012]

So if I have understood correctly, the referee can award a corner, in error, and if a goal is scored from the corner it can be reviewed and corrected even though the game has restarted with the taking of the corner. It has always been the case that once the game restarts a decision cannot be reversed.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Adding corners to VAR checks





FFS games will take longer than the NFL at this rate.

Yellow card rule is ok but cannot the goal line tech just be extened conrer to corner rather than VAR replay for 10 mins

how many contentious corners are there really in a match ? 1 ..maybe 2 at max and it's f*cking infuriating when a ball has ricocheted off a player and the ref points for a goal kick. Good rule.