The controversy surrounding the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is something football fans have become very familiar with, leaving many to question whether it is worth using it at all. Over the course of the football season, it is clear there have been too many controversial decisions causing confusion over the rules as well as impacting teams’ results and therefore their position in the Premier League table.

 

So what are the issues with VAR? In my experience, it is evident that the decisions made are still down to personal opinion causing an inconsistency, not just across multiple fixtures but within singular games. This inconsistency leads to fans questioning why, in some games, these decisions are given in favour of teams but in others are not. The truth is every referee officiating VAR has a different interpretation of the ruling, therefore contributing to the lack of consistency.

 

As established, VAR makes many mistakes resulting in frustration amongst fans. From my experience, it is evident that fans are more accepting of a mistake from the officials on the pitch than a mistake from VAR. This is simply because the VAR officials watch the incident multiple times, from various angles, and have the technology to determine what the right decision is, yet still make mistakes. In comparison, the refereeing team on the pitch only see the incident in real time from their position on the field without the opportunity to re-watch and evaluate the incident in question. However, VAR have all of this at their disposal but still make mistakes which are potentially season-determining for teams.

 

Not only are some of the decisions made by VAR controversial, there is always a long wait for decisions to be made, adding to the frustration surrounding VAR. As a fan, standing waiting for VAR to announce their decision becomes an annoyance; on occasion you can be waiting up to 3 minutes taking all of the momentum out of the game. There is nothing more exhilarating than celebrating your team scoring a vital goal but that joy turns to resentment when you hear ‘VAR check in process’ over the speakers, halting your celebrations. Even after this long wait VAR still does not get the decisions correct. How can this be?

 

So what can be done to improve the Video Assistant Referee? I understand that not everyone will be against VAR so abolishing it all together is not an option. However, the rules of the game need to be clarified so that both referees and supporters have a clear understanding. As well as this, there needs to be communication between fans and officials so that there can be a justification and understanding of why decisions have been made, similarly to the officiating in rugby. One thing is for sure, if VAR doesn’t improve, it will destroy the beautiful game.