VAR — Victor or Victim?

Never before in the 27-year history of Premier League football has there been a time where three letters caused so much polarisation amongst fans, players, managers and pundits. Yes, I’m talking about none other than the notorious VAR (Video Assistant Referee). I think it’s fair to say that the doubts, suspicions and scepticism held by so many towards this new piece of technology were well and truly confirmed after the first round opening fixtures in the 2019/20 campaign.

Before a ball had even been kicked this season, there was already so much division regarding VAR. The decision to award Man United a penalty in the dying minutes of their round of 16 match away against PSG, after an apparent handball in the box by Prisnel Kimpembé, sent seismic waves throughout the entire football world.

Likewise, the FIFA Women’s World Cup this year was the first use of VAR in women’s football and it overshadowed the tournament for a variety of reasons. It was clear that the referees were not 100% sure how it worked and when to use it. One match that truly showcased the controversy the new system has caused is still causing was England’s game against Cameroon in the round of 16.

The video assistant correctly awarded Ellen White’s goal to give England a 2–0 lead going into half time, much to the dismay of the Cameroonians. The game then flipped upside and descended into chaos when Ajara Nchout’s goal was disallowed due to Gabrielle Onguene being offside in the buildup, despite it being incredibly minuscule amount that none of the referees themselves clearly noticed it to flag without the use of VAR. We’re talking millimetres, if that. The Cameroonians were incensed by the decision and even went as far as to revolt on the field. Alain Djeumfa, their manager, vehemently lambasted the decision labelling it as “a miscarriage of justice”.

In their semi-final match with the USA, it was England that were on the receiving end of VAR when White’s goal in the 69th minute was ruled out for being in a an offside position. Similarly with Onguene, it was by a whisker. Harsh? Absolutely! It was incredibly tight, again we’re talking millimetres. Regardless, it was the correct decision.

Man City made a huge statement in their opening fixture with an emphatic win over West Ham at the London Stadium. Yet another game where they oozed class and rather effortlessly decimated and desecrated their opponents. But in spite of their excellence, the talking point of the game was VAR. Gabriel Jesus had a goal disallowed in the 57th minute because Raheem Sterling appeared to be offside. However, it was Sterling’s arm (yes, you read correctly) that was off. What advantage is there if his arm is offside? That’s the million dollar question. The fact that it’s come this far is both ludicrous and incredulous. In total, Mike Dean resorted to VAR on three occasions.

Afterwards, a City fan said the following in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live Sport:

“I came from the game feeling totally deflated and I know you won’t believe that having just thrashed West Ham again 5–0, but VAR just spoils the whole enjoyment … You cannot celebrate a goal now with the faintest of possibility that it could be ruled out because you know for certain that it’s going to go to a VAR decision … It’s a joke, it’s an absolute joke!”

Danny Murphy has also been displeased with the new system. These were his comments from the game:

“ Something doesn’t feel right at the moment when we’re watching football. You spend two minutes celebrating, then you take away that joy. Then the other set of fans are celebrating a non-goal … If you gave me a choice now, I would knock it (VAR) on the head. Do we really want to see goals disallowed for offside when it’s an armpit? It’s supposed to be an entertainment business. It’s creating too many areas of chat like this.”

Already, many people throughout the country have similar views to the new system despite it only making its debut last weekend.

If you think that this would’ve been the end of the commotion, then sadly you’re wrong.

Wolves were also incandescent following their 0–0 draw with Leicester at the King Power Stadium. Leander Dendoncker thought he put his team 1–0 ahead in the 53rd minute after stabbing the ball past Kasper Schmeichel into the back of the net. However, 98 seconds later the goal was ruled out by VAR as a result of an alleged handball by Willy Boly in the buildup. The handball was completely unintentional, so why was the goal still disallowed? Again, these are the kind of questions that linger around this new system.

The Wolves skipper, Connor Coady, shared this sentiment in his post-match interview:

“It is a goal. People will say they have VAR and it has hit his hand, but he is not looking at the ball. We are going to have to play with our hands chopped off in future. If that is not a goal there is a problem … Common sense is Boly is not looking at the ball and not put his hand in the way to knock it down for himself and then shoot. He can’t do anything about it. They have brought VAR in to rectify all those problems but I think it has gone too far the other way now.”

Wolves Boss, Nuno Espírito Santo, echoed the thoughts of Danny Murphy in his post-match interview:

“We celebrate, we don’t celebrate and then Leicester fans celebrate a non-goal … We cannot celebrate a decision. What concerns me more is the tempo, the time we stay in silence, I don’t like it.”

It’s highly unlikely that the criticisms of VAR are going to end anytime soon. In fact, they will only get louder and will subsequently lead to calls for the technology to be scrapped from “the beautiful game” altogether.

In my opinion, VAR is necessary despite the teething issues the system is currently having. In the first weekend of Premier League fixtures, it did appear to kill the speed and dampen the tempo of the games. Yet, I cannot help but admit, albeit reluctantly, that it’s essential and therefore necessary. Why? Because there cannot ever be a repeat of some of the car crash refereeing decisions and performances that we’ve witnessed umpteen times over the years. The referee is no longer the villain now that his decisions can be checked with an instant replay. As the season gets under way, both fans and players alike will eventually get used to the system. The referee effectively has eyes in the back of his head with VAR to give a second opinion. Thus, I hereby declare VAR as the victor for the honest game and with it, less teams can now call themselves a victim of poor refereeing.

Edits made by Lisa Berrie