‘Maybe it’s time to give it the boot’ – West Ham CEO joins VAR criticism ahead of landmark Premier League vote
To VAR or not to VAR, that is the question.
Well, it will be next month when all 20 Premier League clubs will decide what to do about the most controversial new plaything in football since they invented the ref’s whistle. Not quite, but you get my point.
You don’t need a PhD in human behaviour, or even more baffling, the handball laws, to realise VAR has not been a universal success.
It was supposed to iron out the mistakes, make the game fairer for all and improve the overall experience for fans. To put it plainly, it has done none of that.
At West Ham, any decision on which way to vote has not yet been decided but in many ways VAR has been a disaster, especially for the lifeblood of the game, the supporters.
I have lost count of the number of times fans have said to me, ‘please get rid of it’ — and I can sympathise.
Supporters pay good money to be entertained and sitting there waiting for interminable minutes for a decision from Stockley Park has been driving many bonkers.
My real problem with VAR is this — it was intended to eliminate mistakes and yet week in, week out, it does no such thing.
Errors are being made all over the Prem and against every club.
Fans can deal with the human error of the ref because they understand that we all make mistakes and they accept refs make honest mistakes.
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What they find hard to understand is how a so-called expert, in a room many miles away, with countless TV angles, can get it wrong, so often.
That is my principal beef with VAR and over the five years it has been with us, it has not got much better or quicker, despite the fact that every season there have been assurances it will improve.
Also, VAR was introduced to avoid ‘clear and obvious errors’. We would all agree it has not been used for that.
We have had instances where errors have not been corrected which a blind man could have spotted.
Added to that, VAR has also punished clubs when their players have done nothing wrong.
Those who back VAR say it works on offside ‘line’ decisions. But can they honestly say the Coventry FA Cup semi-final ‘winner’ wasn’t a goal because their player was a gnat’s whisker offside.
Surely it is impossible to accurately record EXACTLY when a ball left the passer’s boot.
Wolves have asked for the vote and, as a league shareholder, they have every right to do so.
And I don’t think it is just a Wanderers whinge following a succession of decisions that went against them — most of us feel like that.
I think they genuinely want to see a return to the days when refs got it right almost all the time and we could live with that.
Wolves' VAR complaints
Wolves have listed nine negative repercussions from the introduction of VAR in their complaint.
- Impact on goal celebrations and the spontaneous passion that makes football special
- Frustration and confusion inside stadiums due to lengthy VAR checks and poor communication
- A more hostile atmosphere with protests, booing of the Premier League anthem and chants against VAR
- Overreach of VAR’s original purpose to correct clear and obvious mistakes, now overanalysing subjective decisions and compromising the game’s fluidity and integrity
- Diminished accountability of on-field officials, due to the safety net of VAR, leading to an erosion of authority on the pitch
- Continued errors despite VAR, with supporters unable to accept human error after multiple views and replays, damaging confidence in officiating standards
- Disruption of the Premier League’s fast pace with lengthy VAR checks and more added time, causing matches to run excessively long
- Constant discourse about VAR decisions often overshadowing the match itself, and tarnishing the reputation of the league
- Erosion of trust and reputation, with VAR fuelling completely nonsensical allegations of corruption
If we cannot improve VAR then I don’t see why we shouldn’t get rid because so many fans say it is spoiling the game they love.
Your team scores now and what do you do? You sit on your hands hoping the VAR chappie in Stockley Park hasn’t spotted anything.
Beforehand, there was an instant decision from either the ref or his assistant. They got it wrong sometimes — but very rarely — and you could celebrate like a raving banshee.
The stakes are high and every place in the Premier League is worth millions.
So yes, I can see the argument that we want to get as many decisions right as possible. But if VAR is not doing that then we should seriously consider its future.
Refs make mistakes and so does VAR. Maybe if VAR was adjudged by ex-players who know the game inside out, there may be an improvement.
Who knows better than an ex- player if a handball is deliberate or not? I watched Sky Sports’ coverage in midweek and three ex-players, Wayne Rooney, Roy Keane and Andy Cole, all said, ‘it’s killing the game’.
Fans don’t want it, players past and present don’t want it, so maybe it is time to give VAR the boot.