EPL REVIEW. GAME WEEK 5 (10/16-10/17): VAR, VAR, VAR!!

The weekend’s game may be over but VAR has raised its ugly head yet again in no uncertain terms. I’m planning on concentrating on VAR this week as its purpose appears to be in severe doubt.

I’m a Liverpool fan. Yesterday the VAR calls went against my team and having heard the pundits and read the media reports the overwhelming consensus is the VAR calls were incorrect. Perspective. There have been games in the past 12 months when the Reds have benefited from incorrect VAR calls. In very broad terms, I might see this along the lines of somedays you get the bounce of the ball and other days you don’t, over the season it all evens itself out. However, hasn’t VAR been introduced to diminish controversy and ensure that the correct call is going to be made?!! Has that happened consistently since VAR was introduced to the EPL last season?

I propose going over the VAR system step by step in the hope that if we are going to have VAR it might actually be used to benefit the game. What we have at present is more hindrance than a help. Alternatively, if it cannot be improved then let’s just scrap it and go back to how the game used to be officiated.

STEP #1: DO WE WANT VAR? For me, a resounding “YES!” if it ensures the correct call is going to be made. Especially in the critical moments of a game and in the key moments of a season.

STEP #2: DO WE REALLY NEED STOCKLEY PARK? Why must VAR officiating take place miles away from the stadium? Can’t it be decided pitchside? There is a monitor and a fourth official. Can’t the fourth official and the referee figure out marginal decisions between them using VAR technology at that monitor? Moreover wouldn't that be closer to the SPIRIT of having the man in the middle be more certain when making his final decision? (Additional plus … it does away with all the “clear & obvious error” BS when it seems like Stockley Park doesn’t want to overrule the referee sometimes).

STEP #3: NO MORE LINES. Why do we have to have the silly lines across the field when considering VAR offside calls? Can’t the official just look at it on the screen and make a decision? Sometimes it may still come down to a subjective interpretation but isn’t that at the core of refereeing decisions anyway? There may be one or two debated decisions still but are the lines really needed?

2 points in case from Saturday’s Everton vs Liverpool Derby:

   (i) By the naked eye Mane looks clearly onside. Even with the lines he looks onside to just about everybody except whoever was at Stockley Park. What was offside exactly … the width of the material on his shirt?

   (ii) Before he was clattered by Pickford was Van Dijk offside? I would have said yes in real-time and after watching the reply. However, watching it again this morning a different commentator points out that Calvert-Lewin’s foot (through a crowd of players) plays Van Dijk onside. Whilst this may or may not be true who really cares?!! Please no more lines!! This really ruins the game and much of its spontaneity.

STEP #4: VAR SHOULD BE THERE TO HELP ON MAJOR INCIDENTS. Talking of Van Dijk why did VAR not help the referee when he was taken out by Pickford? This was a major incident and at the very minimum, VAR should have at least advised Michael Oliver to review it on the monitor. Apparently, there is some administrative chain of gobbledegook that prevented VAR from advising the ref on a potential major game incident. Are we all watching the same game?!! Where was the help?

   Whilst I don’t believe Pickford intended to injure Van Dijk (he panicked which is very much in his ‘style’ of goalkeeping at the minute) he would have very likely been red-carded upon review. Of course, the classic incident and oversight in this department will always be the Sheffield United “goal” against Aston Villa when goal-line technology failed. VAR equally failed to inform the official that a legitimate goal had been clearly scored. VAR is supposed to be there to help the referee! It did not help then and it did not regarding the Pickford-Van Dijk incident!

STEP #5: POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE FROM EX-PLAYERS. Having taken refereeing courses on both sides of the Atlantic I think it’s fair to say that many referees have a very different approach & mentality towards the game than the typical player. There have been numerous calls when referees & VAR have been conned by the antics of professional footballers. It has been widely suggested that having ex-pros in the decision making mix could be helpful in certain situations. I agree. An extra pair of eyes advising the referee could be of great value. The referee would still make the final call.

STEP #6: MY RECOMMENDATIONS:

   ? Pitchside VAR. Final decisions by the referee.

   ? Assistance from the 4th official & a possible 5th official who could be an ex-pro

   ? No more lines for offside calls!

   ? Pitchside protocol for VAR to minimize interference from managers, backroom staff, and players.

This may not be perfect but I think it has to be better than the current system used by the EPL. We all know is not working very well. Incidentally, I hope Liverpool’s inquiry about the use of VAR is not with the objective of overturning the result as it appears some fans are hoping. Even as a fan who knows his team was wronged I would be against that. Bad calls have always been part of the game as is learning to live with them. The frustration with the VAR system is that it purports to take bad calls out of the game!

Would my recommendations help make for a more reliable & credible VAR setup? Sadly, the current VAR system in the EPL is inconsistent, and think fans everywhere would be more welcoming of the technology if those using it were doing a better job when called upon to do so.

I hope in Game Week 6 to return to the discussion of the games as opposed to this nonsense!!

https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/liverpool-var-everton-sadio-mane-offside-jordan-pickford-virgil-van-dijk-referee-729347?ITO=newsnow