I have been wondering why VAR is not going well

Whereas in most other sports video refereeing has generally gone pretty well. I think there are two reasons.

In many other sports, the questions are easier. Did the ball hit the line? Did the ball hit the bat? Tech can do a really great job of answering these questions. This is pretty obvious.

Many questions in football are ones of judgement. Was that reckless and dangerous? Did the defender mean to bring him down? Did the forward dive? Of course, much harder, and reasonable people can disagree.

But this doesn’t explain why TMO in rugby (say) is regarded as good, and VAR in football is regarded as crap. I think the answer is the lack of communication. In rugby you get hear the ref. You know what’s being checked and why. You know what the ref thinks, and what they are looking to confirm. If they change a decision, or confirm an action, you know why. You may not agree, but the whole process is laid out.

In football, nothing. I know Paul Tierney was watching clips of that possible pen from lots of different angles. But what was he looking for? How did he see it? What did Moss think he saw? Did Tierney think he had seen it right? How did they think the incident potentially squared up to the laws of football? If this was not a foul, why?

There is no reason why football couldn’t do this. Then, like it or not, at least it would be clear what had been considered. I think the refs in football are currently hiding. I personally don’t trust their ability to make decisions well and consistently based on the evidence. Frankly, I think many of our refs are stupid, and the authorities are worried about having this exposed. Anyone complaining about a decision is just whinging, and crap refs just get to carry on being crap. Generally there should be much more explanation from referees after the event too.

Posted By: Under soil heating, May 30, 08:56:02