VAR - Not the hero we want, the one we need

Pavl3n

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Well, there isn't a thread, but only a few mentions here and there.
After watching The Conf Cup and VAR intervening on few occasions, what are your thoughts?
 

DWelbz19

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VAR is the future of football
 

Pavl3n

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Does anyone think that Chile's second goal initial decision was a bit ... quite surprising. How could the ref not rule it properly?
 

a_devil_inside

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I'm not a fan so far, seems to kill the moment having to stop the goal celebrations and wait for a minute or so.
Even todays match I seen Chile score just before half time and everything seemed fine, but when I switched on the 2nd half it was still 0-0.

The game is going to be very robotic like, with no room for human judgement or free flowing matches.

I keep expecting the players to have a game of charades with the ref.
 

AndyJ1985

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Long overdue. Only the football hipsters will have any complaints.
 

Prodigy24

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I'm not a fan so far, seems to kill the moment having to stop the goal celebrations and wait for a minute or so.
Even todays match I seen Chile score just before half time and everything seemed fine, but when I switched on the 2nd half it was still 0-0.

The game is going to be very robotic like, with no room for human judgement or free flowing matches.

I keep expecting the players to have a game of charades with the ref.
This. If only they could find a way to make the decisions faster without people having to wait that long in suspense.
 

Peyroteo

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I want VAR to be a thing, but before being impletemented it needs to improve. If it's implemented like this, it will kill the sport. The fact that so many top leagues have accepted to use it already is unbelievable and I wouldn't be surprised if next season after a couple of weeks most fans will turn against it.

I'll quote a post from the Confederations Cup since it's exactly how I feel:

I know, a lot are complaining, for a system that seems to bring a bit of more justice to the game

But wait until this happens in a united match, when they disallow a goal for an inch offside goal, after 1 minute of celebrations. Just imagine the match day thread in here.

Here in Chile we were all fuming after the first disallowed goal. And after the first and second legitimate goals i didnt celebrate the goals until i was sure they were gonna validate them, can you imagine how much thats sucks? They need to find a way to implement this system but to make the calls as fast as it gets, otherwise its horrendously intrusive with the way fans experience the football match. All of you saying we complain just for the sake of complaining, just think about it
The problem with the current implementation isn't in the goals that are ruled out offside. It's the correct goals that are the problem because if this is implemented like this you won't be able to celebrate goals anymore. Neutrals are looking at it and thinking it's fair and it works great but when your team is involved you will absolutely hate it as everytime the balls goes in you'll have doubts on the back of your mind and you won't be able to celebrate your team scoring a goal until a minute later. The ectasy of celebrating a goal completely disappears if the decision takes that long. Until they can reduce the time of the decisions from 1 minute to 2 or 3 seconds, VAR should not be used to review goals.

After this, there's also two other problems: as we saw in Club World Cup or in the U20 World Cup, it will not be completely accurate. The controversy in the game will be smaller, but it won't go extinct. When the ref messes up even after VAR there will be even more outrage. And the other problem is that the ref is the one deciding when to use the technology, which will mean there will be times where he'll make the wrong decision and not call it (tonight Cameroon should have been 1-0 up against Chile for example) and times where he'll call it too many times when he really shouldn't, slowing the pace of the game down.

In my opinion, VAR should be used for penalties and red cards. For reviewing goals, until they manage to reduce it to 2 or 3 seconds it should not be used. I also think before implementing it in the big leagues they should at least experiment the tennis challenge system with some kind of rules to prevent time wasting. VAR is a good idea and I'm all for having a fairer sport but the fact it's being implemented as soon as next season in many top leagues without barely any experimentation or improvements is a disgrace and it will end with most fans turning against it.
 

Womp

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Bit conflicted. On one hand it takes away from the suspense, excitement and disappointment which makes the game so special. On the other hand, individual moments which are incorrectly ruled are usually the difference when it comes to Europe and big games etc.
 

Lyricist

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I think when you're neutrally watching a game it appears to be quite comical and it adds a little X factor. :lol: When you want your team to score though and the video ref gets called into action, holy shit that's gotta be annoying.


It's probably for the better though.
 

ArmchairCritic

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I think it's a bad thing in that it ruins the naturally fluidity surrounding the game (fan experience etc) but that currently it's problems are with implementation and circumstance. Should teams have 2 queries per game a la DRS in cricket? Should the VAR be watching in real-time (eg. having dedicated cameras along the line) so they can call decisions seconds after they happen rather than mins later? Should it always the referees call a la Rugby and will we learn to adapt to it eventually (I imagine many tries have been celebrated and not given 1 minute later)? I think it will shake itself out over time.
 

ArmchairCritic

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Oh a huge help to reducing the confusion would be live audio from the refereeing team as decisions are checked but I imagine many referees might not be fluent in English for that? Then again it should not be difficult to get live subtitles would it?
 

SirScholes

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I want VAR to be a thing, but before being impletemented it needs to improve. If it's implemented like this, it will kill the sport. The fact that so many top leagues have accepted to use it already is unbelievable and I wouldn't be surprised if next season after a couple of weeks most fans will turn against it.

I'll quote a post from the Confederations Cup since it's exactly how I feel:



The problem with the current implementation isn't in the goals that are ruled out offside. It's the correct goals that are the problem because if this is implemented like this you won't be able to celebrate goals anymore. Neutrals are looking at it and thinking it's fair and it works great but when your team is involved you will absolutely hate it as everytime the balls goes in you'll have doubts on the back of your mind and you won't be able to celebrate your team scoring a goal until a minute later. The ectasy of celebrating a goal completely disappears if the decision takes that long. Until they can reduce the time of the decisions from 1 minute to 2 or 3 seconds, VAR should not be used to review goals.

After this, there's also two other problems: as we saw in Club World Cup or in the U20 World Cup, it will not be completely accurate. The controversy in the game will be smaller, but it won't go extinct. When the ref messes up even after VAR there will be even more outrage. And the other problem is that the ref is the one deciding when to use the technology, which will mean there will be times where he'll make the wrong decision and not call it (tonight Cameroon should have been 1-0 up against Chile for example) and times where he'll call it too many times when he really shouldn't, slowing the pace of the game down.

In my opinion, VAR should be used for penalties and red cards. For reviewing goals, until they manage to reduce it to 2 or 3 seconds it should not be used. I also think before implementing it in the big leagues they should at least experiment the tennis challenge system with some kind of rules to prevent time wasting. VAR is a good idea and I'm all for having a fairer sport but the fact it's being implemented as soon as next season in many top leagues without barely any experimentation or improvements is a disgrace and it will end with most fans turning against it.
very well put
 

littlepeasoup

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If a team wins a tournament final by a goal, or a league by a point, or escapes relegation by a point and is assisted by VAR in doing so, I'm sure those fans wouldn't bemoan not being able to properly celebrate a goal or two. I agree at the moment it's a little clumsy in it's implementation, but that'll get better as the officials become more used to the system.

I think VAR is a really important step forward for the sport.
 

Darwin09

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Idea great - implementation terrible.

Need to find a way to not be so disruptive to the essence of the game which is the goalscoring and celebration. A friend of mine compared it to goal line technology, which has been nicely implemented because the referee's watch signals it right away.
 

Oscie

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To make sure everything is super accurate, why not have a panel review a match after it's finished and fans can be alerted if their team has been awarded a win or not via a text message as they drive home from the ground.

I can only see hipsters having a problem with this.
 

Oscie

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Eventually maybe the raw burst of emotion that comes with your team scoring a goal could be replaced with the beverish excitement of knowing that the ball going into the back of the net will set of a sequence of reviews and discussion.

I could see "Possibly 1-0 to the Arsenal" really taking off in certain parts of North London.
 

PoTMS

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Like others have said good idea but poor implementation. If it was up to me, I'd use VAR sparsely in game changing conditions e.g goals, offsides, penalties.

Each team would have 2 or 3 VAR challenges and, similar to tennis, if they get one wrong, they're down a challenge. To prevent misuse, maybe the offending team loses 2 challenges for a frivolous appeal.

If there is very little in it, the VAR should advise the ref that it's too close to call and that the match ref should make the final decision. Similar to NFL, there must be indisputable evidence for a decision to be overturned.

As far as how long it takes to make a decision, I'm sore that can also be improved. Rugby, tennis and cricket have shown decisions can be made very quickly. Given time, football may be the same.

At the end of the day, VAR will make the game better just like goal line technology did. It just has to be used correctly.
 

Oscie

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At the end of the day, VAR will make the game better just like goal line technology did. It just has to be used correctly.
I don't know why that's a given. Goal line technology is instant. Anything that requires someone else to review footage almost by definition can't be. We're at risk of losing something so fundamental to the game as the joy and emotion of scoring a goal all for the sake of avoiding occasional mistakes. It's a pretty shite trade-off.
 

Kostur

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I don't know why that's a given. Goal line technology is instant. Anything that requires someone else to review footage almost by definition can't be. We're at risk of losing something so fundamental to the game as the joy and emotion of scoring a goal all for the sake of avoiding occasional mistakes. It's a pretty shite trade-off.
The var decisions are not really taking ages, now are they? Not longer than referee needed previously to chill the players when there was a dubious penalty, card or some other big call. Also I don't think it's occasional mistakes anymore, the game's getting faster and faster and some decisions are incredibly tough to make, referees not to be murdered week in week out need some help and var, after it's properly set up, will offer that. How many times this season have we complained about some fecking idiotic decisions against us alone, not taking into consideration other matches?
 

Rightnr

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Feels the same way as HawkEye in tennis, especially when it first got introduced.

Even though it might take away a bit of the magic on a few limited occasions, the overall justice and fairness it brings to the game will be beneficial in the longer term.
 

Morpheus 7

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Goal line technology is perfect, leave it at that. The Russia v New Zealand game is an example, that was a penalty in my opinion in the first half and wasn't given. Referee didn't use VAR for that replay, player wasn't happy but wasn't protested by his team mates. Nobody is talking about it as much because it didn't matter or effect the result. What if Russia lost that game because of it. My point is that it's at referee's discretion, it's picking and choosing. There will be a decision that divides opinion awarded by the VAR too, football is subjective at times and not all calls will be correct. It slows the game, delayed reactions if it's a goal of not. What if a free kick isn't awarded that leads to a goal, can it be challenged, what's the difference if leads to the same result. I don't like it in football. Get fitter referees that will take responsibility, even in human error. They get away with too much on a weekly basis and answer to nobody, bad game then they get downgraded on profile of games for a month. Football should not be slowed down, it should gain in momentum.
 

acnumber9

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The day they introduced goal line technology was a slippery slope. Taking away emotion and flow from the game is not worth it.
 

Brightonian

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I never liked the idea and still don't. Football is a human game. It's not meant to be some perfect, mechanical utopia where every match is played in identical, flawless conditions and every decision is undebatable because the ref is a time-travelling robot.

At school we were taught that what the ref says goes. The rules are the ref's guidelines, but they are not the actual seat of authority: he (or she) is. The ref cannot be 'wrong', because the ref is the one who decides what's right.

Now of course at a professional level you can't maintain that, because sometimes the cameras will capture a situation where, either by poor judgement or failure to see something, the referee and the rules end up at clear odds. I like goal-line technology because it's black and white and only outranks the ref's judgement in black and white situations. The ball either did or didn't cross the line. Every other refereeing technology, including VAR, potentially goes further, and undermines the referee's judgement in situations that are, to a greater or lesser extent, subjective. And for me, that's too far: part of football is that for 90 minutes, everyone involved consents to let the referee be the sole authority over 'subjective' situations. His is the only opinion that counts.

Of course I bitch and moan about bad decisions as much as the next man. But that's part of the game! Don't sanitise it away! As the captain of my uni side used to say, charming bloke that he was, there's no such thing as a good f**k without a bit of friction.
 

P-Nut

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It's all a learning process at the moment.

I'm a rugby league follower and the decisions there can take minutes to filter through. It is aided by having replays of the incident and live commentary so you can see exactly what is happening and being said. At the moment the TV audience is just getting images of the referee talking to a microphone without hearing what is going on or seeing what they are looking at.

If you was in the stadium and a goal went in, it went to VAR and you could see them deciding on a screen with replays it would only add tension and you'd get the same celebrations. At the moment it just seems fans are confused as much as players. A clear signal that they were going to the VAR would be ideal also.
 

Sylar

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So its either complain about officials being poor or complain about the current VAR, right?

TBH, the first time it was introduced was never going to be the final way its used. Its a process which needs to continue to evolve and eventually we will see that happen.

I think its a good idea given the number of complaints we had especially this past Premier League season. There were just toooooo many mistakes being made.
 

Arthur Friedenreich

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Look, i understand people who grow up in non-footballer cultures, and is habituated with those sports that have a "stop'n'go" nature, like NFL; but its not a good idea THAT PATHETIC SPECTACLE we saw in the Conf Cup, when players/crowd stop a celebration to wait the Fifa/Mafia to check the video.
FOOTBALL IS DIFFERENT.
I dont know what to do. Maybe using one referee at any half of the pitch(already tried), 10, 20 referees, i dont know.
ANYTHING but that bs.
A Football game can't be stopped that way..what da heck was that?? 200% bs!!
 

Carolina Red

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To make sure everything is super accurate, why not have a panel review a match after it's finished and fans can be alerted if their team has been awarded a win or not via a text message as they drive home from the ground.

I can only see hipsters having a problem with this.
Theirs can be delivered by carrier pigeon.
 

P-Nut

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Look, i understand people who grow up in non-footballer cultures, and is habituated with those sports that have a "stop'n'go" nature, like NFL; but its not a good idea THAT PATHETIC SPECTACLE we saw in the Conf Cup, when players/crowd stop a celebration to wait the Fifa/Mafia to check the video.
FOOTBALL IS DIFFERENT.
I dont know what to do. Maybe using one referee at any half of the pitch(already tried), 10, 20 referees, i dont know.
ANYTHING but that bs.
A Football game can't be stopped that way..what da heck was that?? 200% bs!!
It'll get quicker and I grew up watching football and have no problem with it.