F*CK VAR

[The Card Cheat]

It is scientific. The angle of the line is calibrated from the pitch lines and several camera angles.

The rules are clear. There will always be marginal decisions and the scope for error is negligable

But none of that is making Football better. Football is not science it is art, it is beauty, it is poetry, it is euphoria, it's the sheer unbridled ecstasy of a last minute winner taking you to a cup final.
It's not boffins in a room hundreds of miles away desperately trying to decide if someones toe is millimetres offside.
VAR is like whitewashing Monets waterlilies and replacing them with photos "because they're more accurate".

 

[The Card Cheat]

Imagine if macroni's header against steua was ruled out by an offside toe in the buildup how sick would we all have felt. the greatest game in living memory for many coventry fans was ruined by something so small it shouldn't count

Even if it hadn't, if we'd had VAR then it would have completely affected the celebration in a negative way, because instead of celebrating with the wildest abandon safe in the knowledge that absolutely nothing could take that Goal away, we'd have all been thinking "oh **** what if VAR disallows it!?"
I'm a rabid anti-varrer.

 

[Malaguena]

Just found out Spain still refuses to adopt goal line technology.

Barcelona should be winning, the ball clearly and fully crossed the line but the referee didn't give it and played on.

“Normal” rules don’t apply in Spain when Real Madrid are involved

 

[BoroMart]

They're told not to flag immediately, but will always flag after the phase of play is completed.
The ref and linesman 100% gave the goal, if not for VAR Coventry would have won.

Agreed and it would have been an injustice as he was offside by the laws of the game

 

[BoroMart]

But none of that is making Football better.

You need to define “making football better”. It’s certainly reducing officiating errors, there are multiple studies that have quantified this

 

[BoroMart]

VAR is like whitewashing Monets waterlilies and replacing them with photos "because they're more accurate".

I’m not sure that the interpretation of an artist is the right simile for the job of a referee.

A better simile for a ref is a computer that isn’t swayed by the emotion of a crowd or intimidated by a big name ref and can make evidence based decisions to a degree of accuracy that the human eye cannot question

 

[The Card Cheat]

A better simile for a ref is a computer that isn’t swayed by the emotion of a crowd or intimidated by a big name ref and can make evidence based decisions to a degree of accuracy that the human eye cannot question

That sounds fun Mart.
You've converted me, I can't think of anything more appealing than a computer not swayed by the emotion of a crowd!

It's all opinions I suppose, we all see it differently.


Actually no, I'm hearing there's a VAR review.....
(Wait 8 minutes please)





They've decided I'm right.

 

[HolgateCorner]

They're told not to flag immediately, but will always flag after the phase of play is completed.
The ref and linesman 100% gave the goal, if not for VAR Coventry would have won.

Yes but they both know VAR will check a tight decision so disallowing the goal for offside is somebody else’s call after looking at the replay, it’s an easier option for them isn’t it?

My point is that with no VAR the linesman may have acted differently, you can’t assume he wouldn’t have flagged.

 

[ThePrisoner]

I knew it!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1782110221818544482

 

[Scrote]

Yes but they both know VAR will check a tight decision so disallowing the goal for offside is somebody else’s call after looking at the replay, it’s an easier option for them isn’t it?

My point is that with no VAR the linesman may have acted differently, you can’t assume he wouldn’t have flagged.

But isn't this part of the larger problem. If referees are making decisions based on the fact that VAR will rescue them and then VAR doesn't overturn clear and obvious errors - where does that keave us?

You need to define “making football better”. It’s certainly reducing officiating errors, there are multiple studies that have quantified this

Which studies?

We've been through this a dozen times. Is there a new study which does actually show that VAR reduces errors to a significant degree - over and above the problems VAR has introduced - or are we still pushing the Spitz et al report?

 

[RedAsABeetroot]

So if anyone wants to understand how VAR should work I'd recommend searching for 2 incidents from this week's rugby. Both incidents were considered for a red card. In both cases I believe the on-field referee changed his decision based on a correct input from the TMO. Watching live you can hear the decision making and for me it works far better than VAR in football. I get the arguments about rugby being more stop start but I don't accept that as an excuse for the current VAR abomination. In both games the play is stopped while a decision is made.
For anyone interested the 2 incidents are:
Solomone Kata (Northampton vs Leicester) and Feyi-Waboso (Exeter vs Bath).

 

[Paulroddam7]

It was never a penalty in the first place anyway, that was the real disgrace.

 

[BoroMart]

But isn't this part of the larger problem. If referees are making decisions based on the fact that VAR will rescue them and then VAR doesn't overturn clear and obvious errors - where does that keave us?


Which studies?

We've been through this a dozen times. Is there a new study which does actually show that VAR reduces errors to a significant degree - over and above the problems VAR has introduced - or are we still pushing the Spitz et al report?

There are multiple studies world wide about var showing its reduced ref errors. If you dislike the impact on the entertainment, that’s fine, that your right to have that opinion, but it quantifiable has reduced the number of officiating errors. Not to zero, but it’s had a significant improvement. There are zero studies to show that var adds more error or even has a net zero improvement in decision making.

Fact is the Lino got this decision wrong, and without var an incorrect result would have occurred

 

[HolgateCorner]

But isn't this part of the larger problem. If referees are making decisions based on the fact that VAR will rescue them and then VAR doesn't overturn clear and obvious errors - where does that keave

It is part of the problem but only if people continually criticise VAR if it gives the ‘wrong’ decision in terms of how they wanted the outcome to be.

Personally I would prefer the match to be fairly decided rather than emotionally decided but everybody thinks differently don’t they?

 

[Marvanelli]

It was offside and the officials (including VAR) got it right.

Why is there such an uproar?

Of course we all wanted Man Utd to lose....but that doesn't change the fact Coventry's 4th goal was offside.

We all know the concept of VAR is great, but the biggest problem lies with the people who make the decisions (VAR).

 

[NYboro]

We all know the concept of VAR is great,

No we all don't.

 

[Marvanelli]

No we all don't.

But the concept of VAR is to try and right the wrongs of football. Why are you against this?

 

[NYboro]

But the concept of VAR is to try and right the wrongs of football. Why are you against this?

However it's done, it will always take away the spontaneity of the game.

 

[Muttley]

We all know the concept of VAR is a nonsense manufactured by the micro analysis of match incidents by media pundits and self anointed "experts" on the telly

FTFY

 

[Ironops]

It was offside and the officials (including VAR) got it right.

Why is there such an uproar?

Of course we all wanted Man Utd to lose....but that doesn't change the fact Coventry's 4th goal was offside.

We all know the concept of VAR is great, but the biggest problem lies with the people who make the decisions (VAR).

I agree with what you have said - yes it was technically offside and therefore the correct decision - but when someone is offside by literally a toenail it seems utterly ridiculous to be calling it an offside - before VAR that would have been called level and the goal allowed to stand. With no VAR most neutral supporters would say they were level and being a toenail ahead of the play doesn't give the attacker any advantage at all. When we are talking about centimetres between being on or offside then VAR is just spoiling the game.