Yeah, Wolves or not their plight is the perfect example of why VAR is completely flawed. If it were Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd or Man City on the end of these decisions there would be conspiracy theories flying around left, right and centre.
All VAR has done has given referees an added opportunity to be unconsciously biased. You can see it in the decisions, you can see the ones that are more poured over (always the big clubs) and then ones where the ref puts his finger to his ear then waves play on almost immediately. Next time there is a VAR incident in a game between smaller clubs, watch how long is taken over the VAR decisions and how lax they are, then imagine it if they were wearing shirts of a bigger club. It would be a national news story.
The way VAR was introduced was to save Refs from embarrassment. The ‘clear and obvious’ clause was a get out: ‘Yes, it’s a penalty, but we understand why our mate in the middle didn’t give it, so we won’t.’
It would have been simpler if they did away with ‘clear and obvious’ and simply considered if it was a penalty or not.
That said, with some VAR officials even that might not work. The clear push on the Wolves player against West Ham was later said by officials to be ‘outside the box’ and not a penalty, therefore. It very clearly was inside.
Bent?
Unless it leads to a goal, or is a stonewalled penalty/red card, it doesn’t feel like they get much attention at all in smaller games. Almost like an “ah well, it’s only Southampton/Wolves/Ipswich/Whoever” vibe. It’s purely anecdotal, but the amount of decisions I see where I think “if this was Liverpool Vs Utd there would be so much analysis from both the VAR and Neville and Caragher on the decision itself it would go on for hours”.
I hasten to add, I don’t think it’s a conspiracy, but just a continuation of what has always happened in football, which is bigger clubs getting the unconsciously biased benefit of refereeing decisions.
VAR was brought in because referees being human make/made mistakes. Now we have VAR the referees are off the hook and the person/persons sitting in an office somewhere with technology that can tell you within a gnats knacker if someone is offside or not, and yet somehow they still manage to get it wrong on a regular basis. I say scrap VAR and yes the referees & linesmen will make mistakes but at least they are honest mistakes that we can all moan about on social media.
I don’t think VAR is the issue, it’s the idiots running the game, along with the same incompetent referees we have always had. Football isn’t special, almost every other sport has video support in some form for Referees. For some reason, when it was implemented in football, absolutely nobody bothered to look at why it works in any other sport.
Tolerance for “umpires decision”? Nah, don’t need that
Communication played out for everybody to hear between Refs and Video Refs? Nah, don’t need that
Played out on the big screen so everybody at least knows what the hell is happening? Nah, don’t need that. We don’t even need to replay it on TV sometimes.
But how about a time constraint? Nah, just let them go on for ever.
Do we let Referees continue doing their job and just let the tech interfere when necessary? Nah, no more giving offsides, because God forbid the attacking team just gets the ball back where they were.
Should we have a challenge system to stop constant interruptions for tiny decisions? Nah, don’t need that.
It was implemented with an arrogant attitude of “we know best, because football is the biggest sport in the world”.
The trouble is the if you have idiots in charge like Webb who thinks that a tackle by Caciado of Chelsea isn’t endangering an opponent breaking a leg and doesn’t warrant a red then what chance of getting decent refs in any form when them at the top are idiots
I’m not saying for one moment i want VAR in the lower leagues but why is it only restricted to the Premier League? Even the Championship doesn’t have it. One wrong decision (without VAR) could cost a club millions and deny them a place in the Prem. Yes, we know VAR isn’t perfect but it does get stuff right most of the time and as others have said, it’s not VAR being wrong, it’s the officials not using it correctly. I just think it should be used all over the 4 leagues not just Prem. Same in FA CUP as well, the further you go in that, if you’re a lower league club playing a Prem club you won’t have VAR. But if you’re at a Prem ground you do have it. Ludicrous
Have seen nothing from VAR that make me feel like I’d rather have it and it’s effects on the game than accept the dross refs and outragous decisions like that goal that was given against us that didn’t even get within a yard of the line.
The picture is an accurate representation in that the pitch is soaking wet, as was the case in the second half after Stan Cullis had ordered it to be watered to stop Honved playing their natural game.
That was the first thing I noticed too.
Funnily enough I was speaking to my boss about their floodlit matches last week.
He’s Welsh born and lives down in St Albans, but has connections with Dinglehampton through his ex-wife’s family. Says he hates the place!!
I told him about them waterlogging the pitch to stop the away teams passing ability.
I also told him if any dingle ever starts boasting about their record from that era, to ask them how they got on in the away legs. I find it tends to shut them up.
VAR is an abomination - not least because it doesn’t solve anything - it just moves the blame elsewhere. The delay while a goal is debated removes all of the spontaneity out of the game - when surely the most ecstatic part of the game is the release of joy when a goal is scored. All I can think is whoever decided to implement it knows nothing about being a fan.
