VAR inconsistency is ruining football and something must be done about it

VAR is not being used correctly and it is starting to damage the game.

Most football fans were keen to see VAR in operation in the Premier League this season after it was used in the Champions League and World Cup.

The technology was introduced to make life easy for the referee and for teams to stop feeling cheated, however, has it been that helpful really?

No doubt, VAR has been an asset in making certain decisions however, the damage it has done so far seems to be far more than the help it has provided.

The Premier League has had to make some ridiculous explanations. An example was when they had to explain that Roberto Firminoโ€™s armpit was offside against Aston Villa earlier in the season.

Yesterday Raheem Sterling stamped on Dele Alli in Manchester Cityโ€™s game against Tottenham. He was only shown a yellow card by the referee on review by VAR, the technology sided with the referee.

However, a similar incident involved Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Max Meyer when Arsenal played Crystal Palace.

The Gabonese attacker was sent off for that foul against the German but Sterling was let off the hook.

Look at these two images and tell me the difference? Yet Auba gets sent off after VAR gets involved but not Sterling.

The major problem with VARโ€™s implementation is the fact that it is still humans making subjective decisions.

These decisions would have been more consistent if the referee himself used the pitchside screen to make the decisions alone.

One person making the call would eliminate time-wasting and inconsistent decisions and that is all the fans are asking for.

25 Comments

    1. enda, why give the advantage to the attack play?

      Why would one part of a team be given preferential treatment over another?

      The two examples given by admin, show two attackers committing terrible tackles (whether intentional or not) and he could also show defenders committing equally horrendous fouls on two of our own – Ramsey and Eduardo.

      A foul is a foul and no advantage should be given…it just needs riley to back down and allow his referees to make a judgement for themselves using pitchside screens.

      I should also add that I can sed one overriding difference in the two photographs and, hence, the difference in the punishment…..one is an Arsenal player!!!

      1. I see what your saying ken, but your not giving the advantage or preferential treatment to one over another as both teams attack. I think this shows what a great job the linesmen were doing apart from the odd brain fart howler. In my opinion they should take fouls out of it altogether as its all subjective. What you think is stone wall i might not agree and therefore we have a problem.The whole set up is putting a serious dampener on the enjoyment of the game.

  1. Fully agree with your comments Admin Martin. Why referees don’t check the pitch side monitor and make their own decision is beyond me. I believe that refs in the Bundesliga check the monitor before making a final decision so why don’t we? Hopefully changes will be made before next season.

  2. If it’s going to stay then get the monitor on the pitch side for the Referee of the game to make the final decision HIMSELF!!

    Have the Ref of the game conduct an interview after the game on the decisions for the world to hear as to why they made that call. They can go over it in the studio on the monitor with the pundits.

    This VAR is all about the refs decisions being called into doubt so let them have some more responsibility and explain it better.

    In Australia you can hear the refs and assistants conversations throughout the game, when it matters on decisions being made let the conversations go live like the commentators do the whole game.

    Just a thought for today!!

    1. How about german referees officiating in Premier league and visa versa as an example too much bias amoung officials look at the city vs spuds game if there really is no agenda let’s give it a go similar to the southern hemisphere rugby championship

  3. I think Var is getting the wrongs righted im all for it, just a bit quicker on some decisions but its all good for me. Big fan.

  4. VAR isn’t ruining anything apart from fans celebrating goals that should be disallowed. The real problem has always been the referes, VAR cannot compensate for the shit level of the referees. If the Ref on VAR duty decides he likes liverpool so Arnold can use his hands to stop the ball then VAR is useless.

    For example you can give a policeman every technology available but he cannot be bothered to move his fat ass to stop the criminal killing an innocent next to him then the technology is useless. If players, coaches and even fans are held accountable for their actions, why are referee exempt from questioning and punishment. What stops me as a ref from screwing over all the teams i don’t like of every 50/50 decisions ? What prevents me from selling matches for betting money ? What stops me from being biased to certain teams due to peer or family pressure ?

    1. Ackshay, What a very silly post full of unthought through comments. Once you start undermining the ref , as football has done for decades,long even before VAR came in and that then becomes the norm, as it has done, you have long term and ongoing morality issues. Unless an onfield arbitor, the ref, is fully accepted by all as having the final and ONLY decision, then the game pays the price that it has paid in players routinely behaving as oafs towards the ref and the game being widely regarded by decent people as played and also supported by oafs, generally speaking. You completely miss this vital principle and it has not even occurred to you, which is why your post is silly in the extreme. You wrongly blame the refs, instead of the oafish players and the cowardly administrators and decision makers who continually are complicit in undermining refs. This is true, irresepective of the fact that many refs are substandard,. But do not confuse two separate issues here but think, clearly, rationally and wisely, if you can! You do not improve referees standards by continually undermining their onfield authority; quite the reverse. Shame it never occurred to you!

      1. Jon, I think you completely missed the point Ackshay was making. Ackshay is not suggesting to take the power away from the referees, but should be held more accountable for their decision. VAR was implemented to complement referees and not to undermine them. The main issue is not the on field referees (which will continue making human errors), but VAR referees. They have been very inconsistent. example: How is Auba and Sterling foul any different? Also, there is issue with how long it take for VAR to make a decision. what happens to subsequent event i.e from when Aguero’s was fouled to the penalty call? Does everything happen within that 2 minutes voided? what if a goal was scored or a card issued with that two minute?

        1. BEAST MODE, You are clearly wrong about Ackshay. He is for keeping VAR and that itself takes power from refs. Did you not properly read my own post which explained in great depth, exactly why VAR undermines refs? You do not need two lots of refs at all and that is precisely my point. I TOTALLY REJECT YOUR ARGUMENT AS FALSE! You yourself in your own post, correctly LIST, some of the problems with VAR, but the main one is that it takes power from the real ref who should always be respected,whether right or wrong. Authority is vital and needs to be backed up by football authorities with far more draconian punishment against all those on the pitch who are hostile to and who query and scorn refs decisions, whether right or wrong. You cannot have 22 players also reffing and nor should we have behind screens refs too. It is all damaging to the vital morality we badly need to restore to our sport, in order to make it honest as cricket and rugby is,in the main anyway. Too many players and fans think they know better than the refs and that causes huge disrespect problems which then lead to bad behaviour becoming the norm. That is wrong and I SAY SO CLEARLY. YOU SHOULD TOO,IF YOU COULD ONLY THINK WISELY AND CLEARLY.

          1. Jon, VAR has nothing to do with players pouting and insulting the referees. That’s completely different argument. VAR was implement to help referees and giving them a 2nd eye for better decision making. Most other leagues have less issue with VAR than the English FA. Most of us are demanding consistency of the calls made by VAR. Referees will continue making human errors and inconsistency will continue. VAR is supposed to help eliminate this inconsistencies. IF YOU COULD ONLY THINK WISELY AND CLEARLY.

  5. In South African Rugby you can hear the conversations between the var official and the ref. Makes for a better understanding all round…….but I also agree that the ref and the pitchside VAR would be best of all. Referees are not deliberately inconsistent in themselves, but they are between referees. if they checked the monitor at pitch side their own inconsistencies (because they cannot see even foul ‘live) would disappear and there would be fewer between referees. They could if it was that close bring the linesman into the decision as well.

    And goal mouth shoving and shirt pulling should be reviewed in the same way.. A couple of deserved red cards would soon put a stop to the shenanigans.

  6. VAR should be used only for ball-over-the-line and maybe offside when a goal is scored, NOT for fouls or a penalty decision. Refs are getting lazy and not keeping up with the game because they know they have someone supporting them or checking their decisions. For that matter, why still have a referee?

    Furthermore, the referees association or whatever they call themselves, needs a complete cleanout. Retire the old hags (farts?) and bring in new young blood that takes no shit from players. We’ll be having far fewer discussions about refetee performance and more about team performance. That’s what the game should be all about, isn’t it?

  7. VAR was in idea that was rushed through , in typical shallow thinking fashion , without proper and intelligent thought being given to the fact that above all, it undermines the pitch referee and that is damaging to thee necessary respect all players need to start showing all refs. In other sports , played by sportspeople who do not routinely behave as oafs and who do not routinely disrespect and question refs at almost every oppportunity, the refs word is final. Cricket, rugby etc! ONLY IN OAFISH PRO FOOTBALL IS DISRESPECT AND OPEN HOSTILITY AND QUESTIONING OF THE REFS DECISION THE NORM. This is plain daft and though it is so ingrained, with fans toom that I DOUBT ANYONE WILL AGREE WITH ME, I say that you disrespect refs at the peril of the games morality. Refs are thus disrespected; even by the fact that VAR questions their decisions, by its very nature. We are stupid to have VAR at all and I WISH IT FAILS, EVEN MORE THAN NOW, AND TAT THE OUTCRY AGAINST IT BECOMES SO VOCAL AND TOXIC THAT WISER HEADS PREVAIL AND IT IS BINNED. I WOULD KEEP GOALLINE TECHNOLOGY, AS IT WORKS WELL AND DOES NOT UNDERMINE, BUT HELPS REFS. IT IS THE PRINCIPLE OF UNDERMINING THE ONFIELD ARBITOR, THE REF , THAT IS FOOLISH AND WRONG. I FULLY EXPECT TO BE A VOICE IN THR WILDERNESS WHO WISHES TO COMPLETELY BIN VAR!

    Over and above the principle being wrong, the stupid way it is used with behind the scenes opinions,is is not facts but opinions, being used by faceless fools that is spoiling the fans enjoyment. And when you regularly spoil fans enjoyment, as it is clearly and regularly doing , then be prepared to pay that price OR be wise and bin it NOW. It should NEVER , EVER, HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN AT ALL AND ONLY WAS BECAUSE FOOLS RUN FOOTBALL. FOOLS AND MORALLY CORRUPT BUSINESS SHARKS! SIGH!

    1. You’re definitely not a lone voice in the wilderness, Jon. I agree completely, maybe with one small difference – see my comment above yours. The disrespect that players show refs is getting completely out of hand, but nothing a few red cards cannot fix. The players are allowed to get away with it by weak referees, enough, I say!!

      1. SA Gooner, And by weak authorities too, who do not properly back refs decisions and who give paltry and non effective punishments to cheats . In a clean sport such as golf, bowls, even cricket and rugby union which are not perfect,open defiance of the ref/umpire leads to PROPER PUNISHMENTS whih deter itfrom happening again with tha tplayer. Football should follow suit but is too cwardly and corporate driven to instill and enforce proper morality and to not tolerate open dissent. Small minded and cowardly authorities!

  8. VAR is a tool meant to assist the on field referees, most especially the centre referee. But, because there was an elements of corruption in the game already, most especially in England, It will take time to adjust the FA world view of decision and perspective of the game. I will still stand with technology because of human errors of the past, the FA should allow only the center referee to make final decision by making use of the pitchside monitors,let this be install in Liverpool and Manchester united stadia,closer to the referees for faster decisions,on a final note, VAR will evolve.

  9. Well said SAGooner.Fans are sadly influenced by what they see on the pitch.The disrespect shown by players and certain Manager’s towards Referees and fourth officials is shocking and compares badly with the respect displayed in Rugby Union.The solution needs to start from the top with football associations backing refs to ensure that players conduct themselves within the laws of the game and coming down really hard on those who show disrespect on the pitch.That includes players surrounding refs in numbers.Only team captains should be permitted to approach the ref and any others who do should be immediately yellow carded.

  10. The referees are to blame they should go and look at the screen on the touchline that is what it is there for it is too easy for a ref to draw a square with his hands to signal VAR they want to get there act together

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors