VAR thread 2022/23

[bobbyowenquiff]

Do we? At present, the commentators can hear what VAR are saying. They can’t speak to them.

I didn't know that. Do you think the VAR team are able to watch a media feed of the game complete with commentary? The VAR room is shrouded in secrecy. My main issue is why are the paying customers (fans and viewers) not in the loop. It just feels that when the TV commentators make a fuss the VAR team act promptly. The rest of the time it feels very hit and miss.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

I didn't know that. Do you think the VAR team are able to watch a media feed of the game complete with commentary? The VAR room is shrouded in secrecy. My main issue is why are the paying customers (fans and viewers) not in the loop. It just feels that when the TV commentators make a fuss the VAR team act promptly. The rest of the time it feels very hit and miss.

Totally with you on how VAR makes fans feel and it’s in dire need of more clarity and transparency to allow more fans to trust the process.

When it first came out, there were interviews, I think with Neil Swarbrick, who said Stockley park had no commentary and only had the cameras to work with, along with talking to the referee.

We only have his word for that though as we’ve not heard any different.

 

[kaz7]

Stand by , olivar and teirney for spuds game , olivar was the ref for that dipper game when he shafted us and we complained about him ,look foward to some dodgy decisions with the help of var

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

VAR don’t have any outside influences. So no commentary. No knowledge of what replays TV are deciding to show. Some people on here don’t believe that fact but there’s not much argument you can put up to counter someone who thinks everything is one big conspiracy.

Who is suggesting there is one big conspiracy? What most fans are worried about is the level of incompetence. We are seeing absurd blunders week after week. There appears to be no accountability or transparency operating. How do you know the VAR team can't hear the TV commentary? Have you been inside Stockley Park? We are the fans who pay thousands a year for season tickets and broadcast packages but we can't even see how the officials are operating.
Why does PGMOL not have a website and has no explanation of how VAR is being implemented?
The only reference I can find on the official PL site is the one below which has not been updated for more than two years and has no detail about the actual process. For example it says the VAR will "review the broadcast coverage." Whose broadcast covderage and who decides which angles they get?

VAR - Frequently Asked Questions

Find out how Video Assistant Referees assist on-field officials

www.premierleague.com

 

[kaz7]

VAR don’t have any outside influences. So no commentary. No knowledge of what replays TV are deciding to show. Some people on here don’t believe that fact but there’s not much argument you can put up to counter someone who thinks everything is one big conspiracy.

Proof please

 

[halfcenturyup]

Whereas people with a more open minded approach think that VAR isn’t perfect and could be improved greatly, but isn’t a tool used to manipulate the game to any significant level.

You can't prove that it isn't a tool used to manipulate the game, but you expect proof from other people who think it could be. It's an unreasonable position.

I would hope "to any significant level" was redundant. Otherwise, you are accepting that it IS used to manipulate the game, just not to any significant level, at which point I would ask you to define "significant".

 

[inchy14]

A question. When multiple games kick off at 3pm are all the VAR officials in the same building or room? Only just dawned on me but the decision could be being discussed between multiple refs before deciding.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

You can't prove that it isn't a tool used to manipulate the game, but you expect proof from other people who think it could be. It's an unreasonable position.

I would hope "to any significant level" was redundant. Otherwise, you are accepting that it IS used to manipulate the game, just not to any significant level, at which point I would ask you to define "significant".

I don’t need to prove it though. It’s not eating away at my love for football.

 

[halfcenturyup]

I don’t need to prove it though. It’s not eating away at my love for football.

It's not eating away at my love for football either. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be governed properly.

 

[halfcenturyup]

A question. When multiple games kick off at 3pm are all the VAR officials in the same building or room? Only just dawned on me but the decision could be being discussed between multiple refs before deciding.

:) Maybe it's like Gillette Soccer Saturday. Maybe it IS Gillette Soccer Saturday.

 

[super_city_si]

I think we have incredibly poor officials and they were shit without var and are just as shit with it. They have no clue.
the offsides are getting weird though. Ive seen the green line once And lots of very tight calls that dont seem right and still havent used the green line.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

It's not eating away at my love for football either. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be governed properly.

Fair play, maybe not yours, but people often drop in on this thread to say it.

I think we all want it to improve.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

I think we have incredibly poor officials and they were shit without var and are just as shit with it. They have no clue.
the offsides are getting weird though. Ive seen the green line once And lots of very tight calls that dont seem right and still havent used the green line.

This is often said. Then we see how European games are reffed and we want our own ones back!

 

[SebastianBlue]

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

What would your thoughts be on specifically trained VAR referees who were better at using technology, but less experienced in actual refereeing?

It‘s merely a though that’s just gone through my head.

Maybe Mason is useless at using technology and that’s made him make an awful decision.

 

[Blue Til Death]

I never heard of a single ref getting pulled for the myriad shit decisions against us over the years …!

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

What would your thoughts be on specifically trained VAR referees who were better at using technology, but less experienced in actual refereeing?

It‘s merely a though that’s just gone through my head.

Maybe Mason is useless at using technology and that’s made him make an awful decision.

The VAR ref is already disconnected from the game by virtue of the fact they aren't fully immersed in what is going on, and they can only see the action on a relatively small screen in 2-dimensions. Putting a less experience referee in that situation will only compound the disconnect.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

The VAR ref is already disconnected from the game by virtue of the fact they aren't fully immersed in what is going on, and they can only see the action on a relatively small screen in 2-dimensions. Putting a less experience referee in that situation will only compound the disconnect.

Unless they know the laws of the game, I would agree.

Is it better or worse for them to be like a lawyer? Pros would be they’d know the intricacies of every law to the nth degree. Cons would be them not “knowing the game”, which also leads to subjectivity and more inconsistencies.

 

[halfcenturyup]

Is it better or worse for them to be like a lawyer?

I think it's enough that they aren't like Lee Mason. I really don't know what he was thinking. He never struck me as a particularly good ref and he clearly isn't very good at VAR, either.

If I was the PL, I wouldn't want him anywhere near a multi-million-pound piece of broadcasting equipment.

 

[inchy14]

What would your thoughts be on specifically trained VAR referees who were better at using technology, but less experienced in actual refereeing?

It‘s merely a though that’s just gone through my head.

Maybe Mason is useless at using technology and that’s made him make an awful decision.

Come on nate, you don’t have to be Bill Gates to see that that decision was fucked up. Don’t have to be able to use technology to see a clear cut decision like that.
He just wanted to shaft Newcastle.