Paul
GARDNER
WORLDWIDE VIEWGLOBAL FOOTBALL INTELLIGENCE
VAR should be a requirement, not an option
The powerful tool known as VAR is
still a work in progress. And there
is still a lot about it that stands in
the way of outright acceptance. VAR
relies on meticulous observation
- and sometimes almost scientifically
accurate measurement – yet its
employment is not uniform. In fact,
it looks almost haphazard.
VAR is, inarguably, a branch of
refereeing as it is making refereeing
decisions, and there is a FIFA rule
book governing those decisions. The
whole world plays according the same
basic set of rules.
As VAR is such a costly programme,
maybe 99 per cent of the football
played worldwide does not use it and
probably never will. But among the
elite leagues and tournaments we find
some that employ VAR and some that
do not. There is no FIFA ruling that
they have to use it and that allows
a serious fluctuation in the level of
refereeing in top-level matches.
Adding further confusion and
variation, it is also evident that VAR
users are free to decide for themselves
which incidents in a game will be
subject to VAR scrutiny.
The English Premier League has
announced that it will not use VAR to
detect goalkeeper movement. This is
an absurd decision that undermines
the very reason for using VAR; namely,
that it can detect rule infringements
that referees have trouble spotting.
It has been clear for years that theofficials are unable to detect such
movement and link it to the exact
moment the ball is kicked. Inevitably,
goalkeepers have been taking one
step, maybe more, forward and are
being allowed to do so. But ratherthan enforcing the rule, IFAB has caved
in and relaxed it.
Goalkeepers are now permitted to
take one step forward, provided the
other foot is on, or hovering over,
the goal line. The likely result of that
amendment is goalkeepers will now
feel safe in taking two steps forward.
Even though football now has a
means to infallibly detect goalkeeper
movement through the use of VAR,
the EPL has decided to ignore it and
will continue to rely on the proven
inaccuracy of on-field officials.
That the EPL is knowingly allowing
keepers to cheat is bad enough – but
there is more bad news. Perhaps the
most irritating, and least acceptable,
aspect of VAR is its use in deciding
offside calls.
The VAR calls involve millimetric
measurements – a player’s toe, maybe
a nose, is offside. The graphic proves it,
so argument is out of the question. So
why is a keeper is allowed to get away
with illegal movement but an attacker
is penalised for being offside by mere
millimetres? Where is the common
sense or the fairness in that?
Rules call for consistency, so VAR
must be used to check on goalkeepers
and offside calls or it should not beused for either. I would favour the
latter solution.
We have grown used to football’s
mollycoddling of goalkeepers. One
further sop is not going to make much
difference. But this absurdity of calling
a player’s nose offside needs to be
vetoed. VAR should only be reviewing
offside calls that involve “clear and
obvious error”. A call that involves
millimetric measurement cannot
possibly fall into that category.
Maybe the best solution would be
to rewrite the offside rule, taking a
closer look at an idea that circulated
some decades back that there has to
be daylight between an attacker and
the defender before an offside call
can be made.No change...VAR
will not be used to
detect goalkeeper
movement at a
penalty in the
Premier LeagueThe VAR calls involve millimetric measurements
- a player’s toe, maybe a nose, is offside
Sign of the times...
VAR at Manchester
City’s Etihad Stadium