Wolves manager Gary O’Neil declared: “What is the point of VAR?” His team felt wronged when subsequent decisions turned out to be crucial in the defeat against Fulham. Newcastle coach Eddie Howe described his own club’s stoppage-time penalty against Paris Saint-Germain as a “bad decision” that “looks completely different” in slow-motion replay shared with officials watching the game on monitors.
The current situation comes after the use of technology in football has increased over the previous few years, but none has sparked as much debate and questions as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) situation.
Overall, minor and visible calls are considered to enhance over the course of the season, with on-field officials receiving additional assistance. However, there have been several high-profile incidents recently where clubs or their staff have complained about the final decision or decision-making process, with one other recent one occurring in the Champions League.
Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag felt aggrieved by several calls made against them in the 4-3 defeat to FC Copenhagen, including the decision to send off Marcus Rashford for a serious foul.
But the other side of the debate is that – while they are not absolute and specific as to what is and what is not a foul, when a choice must be made and when not etc – there is a line on where VAR intervenes and decides the result. stopping incidents (or not) seems way more essential in the Premier League than in European competitions.
There is a widespread belief around the world that a penalty against Newcastle for PSG wouldn’t have been awarded in England, and Jarrell Quansah’s late goal for Liverpool against Toulouse wouldn’t have been considered a handball against Alexis Mac Allister much earlier in the pre-season. . However, none of those cases occurred in the Premier League, and referees in Europe – under the banner of UEFA – have a special approach and a special level of intervention.
Here’s every part you must find out about VAR, including the latest reasons for complaints.
What went incorrect?
Newcastle were very upset that a penalty was awarded for handball after a VAR review was not carried out in the last minute of stoppage time in the 1-1 draw with PSG.
At the starting of the competition, Manchester United complained about Rashford’s red card for crossing the foot and shin of an opponent. Ten Hag insisted his team had been awarded three “very questionable” penalties in 4 games and called his striker’s sending off “very harsh”.
In domestic football, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta complained about “unacceptable” on-pitch and VAR errors as his side lost to Newcastle, while Wolves manager O’Neil continues to feel unfairly treated by the use of the technology.
Earlier in the season, he described the penalty decision awarded to his team and upheld by VAR as “scandalous” – also against Newcastle. VAR sent referee Michael Salisbury on screen to award a penalty after Joao Gomes brought down Harry Wilson in the box, and Willian scored his second penalty of the game to present Fulham all three points. O’Neil highlighted decisions regarding the late penalty, Carlos Vinicius’ alleged header on Max Kilman, and why Tim Ream was not given a second yellow card for a foul on Hwang Hee-Chan while the Whites’ first penalty was awarded for a foul by Nelson Semedo on Tom Cairney was also controversial. It is value noting that VAR would never intervene in Ream’s case as it only gets involved for direct red card offenses and not for a second yellow card.
Ange Postecoglou recently suggested that clubs must shoulder a few of the blame for long interruptions to the use of VAR, saying: “Some of it is our fault because if we complain about decisions every week, that’s what will happen, every decision will be forensically reviewed and We will be sitting through each match for a long time trying to understand what is going on.
It should be noted, however, that the vast majority of them are subjective opinions and where Arteta sees fault, another manager, fan, or even an official may see justification in his decision.
One incident that was not subjective but rather a clear error occurred when Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham was ruled out for offside and was subsequently allowed to stand disallowed, even though the VAR referees had carried out their procedures and shown that the striker he was offside. The “significant human error” occurred when referee Darren England apparently forgot that an offside, not a goal, had been awarded in the first place.
Millie Bright, on the other hand, criticized the fact that this was the case NO In the first edition of the Women’s Nations League, VAR, after a clearly offside goal, allowed the team to play against England, which could have been easily ruled out.
Other clear VAR errors for which PGMOL had to apologize include Wolves missing a penalty against Man United after Andre Onana hit Sasa Kalajdzic, Brentford’s goal against Arsenal not being checked properly, offside lines not being drawn and a late draw not being awarded West Hamu. for a foul that wasn’t visible.
What went well?
Honestly, a lot.
This is overlooked when three or four calls are accurate, when one causes a major complaint or is at least a subjective call that most seem to disagree with.
For example, in the incident-filled Tottenham v Chelsea match, several goals were rightly ruled out for offside after VAR was applied – or checked – and the penalty awarded that resulted in Cristian Romero being sent off was also the result of VAR intervention.
Generally speaking, those calls that are generally accepted as correct are not highlighted, in part because the technology exists for that very reason: it is expected to help officials make the right calls when they look again.
However, this does not mean that they do not occur. First league reported that in the season before the introduction of VAR, 82% of decisions were correct, and in the 2019/20 season this percentage increased to 94%.
What does the VAR review process look like?
From the Premier League website: VAR will only be used in the event of “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” in four match-changing situations: goals; decisions regarding penalties; direct red card incidents; and mistaken identity.
When any of these situations occur or are likely to occur, VAR constantly re-watches and monitors match footage from the center at Stockley Park.
If such a decision is made, the VAR or assistant VAR (AVAR) will inform the referee that play should be stopped pending a review, before advising the referee to fall, check the pitch monitor for the referee or continue the match with the original decision made on the pitch.
Video referees have until the ball becomes dead to inform the referee that play is being checked.
The referee can then check the monitor or accept the VAR’s recommendation. After reviewing the on-field monitor, they can then stick to their initial assessment or disprove the original before communicating their new decision to the audience.
What did PGMOL say?
Howard Webb, refereeing director at Professional Game Match Officers Limited, took on the role last year to improve refereeing standards in the English game and help oversee the smoother use of technology.
PGMOL confirmed to the League Managers’ Association that it is “actively taking a look at the best solution to incorporate VAR into matchday refereeing teams to make sure a dynamic between the on-pitch referee and VAR that is conducive to positive results.”
After the Diaz incident, the organization “admits[d] there was significant human error” and additional processes were put in place to stop the problem from recurring. They also released an audio recording of the incident, which Webb said was an “extraordinary step” “to show everyone what was immediately obvious to us, which was human error and loss of concentration.”
Webb has suggested increasing the pool of VAR referees, but Lee Mason offers a cautionary tale. The former referee became full-time VAR for the 2022/23 season, but stepped away from the role last season following the aforementioned error on Brentford’s goal against Arsenal. Mason, who has already been faraway from the referees’ list this campaign for unfairly disallowing a goal for Newcastle, was branded a “serial offender” by former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett, but at the start of the current campaign Mason was again branded a “serial offender”. -employed as a referee coach in lower leagues. This continues to lift questions as to why his mandate is suitable for less experienced officials to administer, although he has already been faraway from his position.
Update: PGMOL has confirmed to The Independent that Lee Mason is not on VAR.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
