Football News: VAR Decisions Need Fixing

Bit of a lengthy article lads so bear with me – just wanted to collate a few views on the officiating this season and what needs doing / has been done about it.

THIS SEASON:

The big issue this season has been VAR hasn’t it? The issue seems not so much with the actual technology itself, but rather how it’s being used and by whom and then the sheer length of time it takes a decision to be reached.

THE HOW:

The ‘Clear and Obvious’ rule is just ridiculous – I mean, the very calls that fans protest about so much are just blatantly clear and obvious to everyone watching the replays at home, apart from the VAR officials.

VAR gets involved with some decisions, then declines to get involved in others citing this rule. Whilst this would be ok if the call was one of the 50/50 type calls we have seen then I would understand, but some of the decisions VAR fail to get involved in is just unbelievable – again, not 50/50 type decisions, but just blatant errors, blatant penalties, red cards etc. and VAR fails to intervene?

It is precisely these instances that leave fans scratching their heads and asking ‘what is the actual point of VAR?’

THE WHO:

It seems to be the same officials that continuously make these ‘errors’ – Every fan accepts that the on-field referee will miss things. Players get in the way, the speed of the game etc, all reasons for things to be missed and that’s fine as fans accept that.

The issue is when the VAR official takes 5 minutes looking at the same replay that thousands of us see at home, yet somehow still misses the blatant handball, karate kick to the ribs, shirt pull, dive etc. – he misses this when everybody else sees it’s an issue and this is one the PGMOL simply fail to tackle.

They take the VAR official off games for a week and that is it – I mean, maybe invite him to a meeting, show him the clip and ask him how he saw it as he did while it’s so blatantly obvious to everyone else?

Again, same 5 or 6 officials every time – the figures the PGMOL produce showing errors only includes those that they have admitted to, not the countless others that VAR failed to get involved in or they claimed were ‘correct’ decisions.

THE TIME TAKEN:

This is the bit that really gets me. If they have a mantra that VAR will only get involved with the ‘Clear and Obvious’ occurrences, how does it take 5 mins plus to reach a decision then? That length of time would indicate that nothing about it is either clear or obvious, wouldn’t it?

THE ISSUES:

1. ‘Clear…