Premier League: Removal of VAR would not provide a miracle cure
Referee Stuart Attwell rules out a Wolverhampton Wanderers goal against Bournemouth, scored by Hwang Hee-Chan, after checking the pitch-side VAR monitor during the Premier League match at Molineux, Wolverhampton. Picture: David Davies/PA Wire.
WEDNESDAY night’s Premier League game at Old Trafford was an intriguing battle between the two Uniteds, Manchester and Newcastle, with both sides vying for the last qualification place in Europe. And while the home side, in large part, deservedly came out on top, there was still a degree of controversy about the win when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) did not pick up on what looked like a clear foul in the Manchester box, which may have turned the result in favour of Newcastle.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon had the studs from Sofyan Amrabat’s boot dragged down the back of his Achillies, inside the Manchester box. It was clear to anyone watching at home that it occurred a foot inside the box and the effect of the tackle was so intense that it ripped Gordon’s sock at the heel. After the game, Gordon understandably questioned the point of VAR if it wasn’t going to pick up on mistakes on the field.
The incident happened just a day after Wolves announced that they were going to propose the scrapping of VAR at the Premier League meeting at the end of the season, come June. The midlands club expressing their concerns about prominent and controversial failures in the use of the technology as well as the frustration among players and fans at the delays by checks and on-field reviews.
Wolves will call on the clubs of the Premier League to vote away the technology introduced in the 2019/20 season on the back of the club being at the end of several controversial VAR decisions this season.
The Wolves proposal will say that VAR adversely impacts goal celebrations, as every goal is reviewed by the off-field for infringements. They also claim it has raised frustration among fans left in the dark by lengthy reviews. They say this frustration creates a hostile atmosphere as fans react angrily to the delays.
They also claim that VAR has overreached its original role to correct obvious mistakes and instead are now overanalysing subjective decisions like what defines a hand ball. Then there is the loss of confidence in decision-making by officials after so many obvious and publicised errors by VAR. Finally, Wolves are expressing concern that the VAR delays were compromising the fast pace of the Premier League, which has defined and popularised the English league as a brand across the globe.
These were the same concerns of the TV on Sky Sports on Wednesday night, when game legends Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney and Andy Cole bemoaned the impact on the game with Keane noting that “VAR was introduced to remove errors but all we seem to do is talk about what VAR got wrong rather than the football.” Again, as we have said on these pages before, there is nothing per say wrong with the actual technology involved in VAR.
The issues always come back to the human error it is supposed to remove. Unfortunately, all its introduction seems to have achieved is to move the human errors from the field into the media centre reviewing events. If VAR is to be retained or rectified it needs even further removal of humans from the equation. The technology does not have a bias it’s not out to win the league for any side or relegate another. Its real flaw is the organic unit operating it. Resolve that element and you will mostly resolve issues with VAR, although no system is infallible.
It is felt that it’s unlikely that the majority of league will vote for the system’s removal, for the reason of returning to the old ways of letting sole control to a single referee on the field would see an intolerable return of unrectified injustices in every game. For all its faults, VAR does rectify many issues without controversy. But we the mistakes and injustice a lot more readily than the correct decisions. Another foible of our human nature.
Nevertheless, Wolves concerns are justifiable and there isn’t a team in the league without a hard luck story regarding a VAR injustice. But Wolves had the fewest decisions go their way this season – just a single incident, while seven incidents went against them, leaving them the worst affected team by VAR decisions. Fulham had the most favourable outcomes from VAR.
Strangely, when the league table was adjusted without VAR decisions, the standings were pretty much the same. With sides up or down by only a place in most cases.
Things need to be addressed for sure regarding VAR, a cleaner law on what’s offside for one. And a semi-automated system for offsides is being introduced to reduce delays on checking decisions from next season.
But the VAR toothpaste is out of the tube now, any attempt to get it back in would be a near impossible and a messy task, without the desired improvement many believe it would have.
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