Figure 1 VAR was supposed to eliminate mistakes from the game
If you are a soccer fan there is a good chance that you have been watching one of the big international tournaments this summer. The Copa América has brought together the best national teams in the Americas while, across the Atlantic, the European Championship has taken place in Germany to decide its continental champion.
Some of the finest soccer players of their generation have come together in both tournaments for a feast of football. There have been incredible goals, shock upsets, and worthy winners that you may have attempted to predict on the BetOnline sportsbook. But what has been arguably much easier to foresee is VAR decisions infuriating just about everyone involved and changing the course of games.
If you are not up to date with your sports tech you may need a refresher in what VAR is. But, even if you are more of a fan, we are going to explain just what VAR was designed to do, why it is causing so much anger among players, coaches, and fans alike – and what we can expect from VAR in the future.
What is VAR?
VAR is the Video Assistant Referee, an actual official, who helps the on-field referee with decisions during a soccer game. There is actually a team of assistants sitting in a building away from the stadium, watching the game and alerting the referee if they feel that there is a need to review a decision.
VAR as a concept has been around since the late 2000s and was first officially used by the Australian A-League for the first time in 2017. MLS soon followed and, after further FIFA trials, all the top soccer leagues in the world now use VAR for top-tier games.
Clear and Obvious
The reason why VAR was first brought into the game was because everyone – fans, players, coaches, and media pundits – was saying that there needed to be consistency with refereeing decisions. There was a feeling that poor decisions were being made and they were having major consequences.
The VAR team actually does check everything that goes on in a soccer match but has a remit to review the most important events. The phrase “clear and obvious mistake” was introduced to help people understand what was being checked. But that distinction has only further added controversy to the system.
Delay to Play
One of the major criticisms of VAR is just how long it takes to review and accept or overturn an on-field decision. Although everyone is supposed to be interested in getting the decisions correct, there is a feeling that the time delay for every review is ruining the flow of the game.
Video referees have been used in many other sports, always with at least a hint of controversy. But it could be argued that US sports, with their more frequent breaks in play and time-outs, are more conducive for VAR use. Delays in soccer have been getting worse and there is now a concerted effort to speed up the process.
Made for TV Audience
That delay in the playing of the game can be frustrating for all fans but it is undoubtedly worse for those who are actually at the game. The fan who is watching on TV at home can easily do something else while the VAR check is made. The fan in the ground can only wait to see what VAR has decided.
This apparent favoring of the TV-watching soccer fan has angered supporters groups across the world who have also been regularly left in the dark, not even knowing what is being checked and why. This criticism only fuels the argument that FIFA and other soccer governing bodies are more interested in TV deals than the experience of the match-going fan.
More Confusion
If all of that wasn’t enough, it is also argued by its detractors that VAR has only added further confusion to the game. The fans not knowing what is going on is one thing but players and coaches – and especially TV pundits – claim not to understand the latest developments.
Although it is undeniable that changes and amendments to how VAR is used have confused many different people connected to soccer, it could also be said that the fans are not always as up-to-date with all of the latest law changes in soccer as they like to think. The game is constantly evolving and it is not only the VAR rules that have passed some onlookers by.
Technology for Good
What most detractors have forgotten is that there was a huge demand for something that would eliminate the mistakes that were being made in soccer games. The evidence is there to show that that is happening but it has not eliminated controversy entirely and VAR is attacked because of that.
Not all of the technology introduced into soccer in the last few years has been as supposedly unsuccessful as VAR. Goal-line technology is able to tell a referee in an instant if a goal has been scored or not and semi-automated offside decisions have eliminated mistakes in that area of the game – as well as sped things up.
Figure 2 Improvements are needed if VAR is to be embraced by the fans
The Future of VAR
VAR has been so contentious that the English Premier League clubs voted on whether to scrap it completely at the end of last season. The 19-1 result in favor of keeping it suggests that VAR is going to be around for a while yet. But some improvements will need to be made quickly.
As well as other tech speeding up decisions, communication between the referee, the VAR team, and the fans and players seems to be a main priority. If everyone understands what is going on, the hope is that there will be greater acceptance.
But, in the end, soccer fans are always going to argue about decisions, most often on a partisan basis. VAR is designed to eliminate the mistakes but the bar room debates will always be part of the game.
