VAR what a waste of time

Watching the Portugul v Iran game last night made me fear for the beautiful game that is football.

Firstly I have to say the referee lost it last night but what was more worrying was every time there was a major decision to be made you had players pressurising the referee to go to VAR and boy did he go to it.

The game became so disjointed is was as bad as watching Rugby, the game was destroyed by the ref with VAR, if you noticed there were only 6 minutes added after all subs had been used which meant that only 3 minutes were added for VAR time when in reality upwards of 10 minutes were lose when the referee was consulting VAR, we the spectators are being short changed by this nonsense. THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME AS WE KNOW IT lets go back to leaving it to the referee and see a few mistakes in the game. its better for it

Its new but used properly it will help the game out.

The ref should only use it if he thinks it's goal scoring opportunity or game changing. I.e. red cards

Overall it's been really good, but he made a mess of it yesterday, a bad ref I think rather than bad VAR.

Spain's onside goal was allowed to stand and it was the correct decision.

With VAR we should see more right than wrong, nothing is perfect as it will still sometimes come down to interpretation and someone's opinion.

Last edited by Bluebina on Tue Jun 26, 2018 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ive always said it will ruin the game and haven't seen anything to suggest otherwise.

It certainly needs more fine tuning for it to work and I think they should have held off before using it in such a major tournament.

I only saw the first half of last nights game so missed all the excitement but this mobbing of referee's by players finger drawing television screens has to be outlawed right away. It should be an automatic caution, it's as bad as asking for a card IMO.

The ref was a joke in that game, lost control of the game and allowed players to pressure and bully him, somehow decided that it was an intentional handball, gave a 50/50 decision to give ronaldo a pen after initially waving play on, gave a yellow card to ronaldo for an off the ball elbow to the face (surely its either not a foul (accidental) or a red card offence) etc etc.

When used properly VAR will do a lot of good imo, a good example is the spain game, 2-1 towards the end of the game, spain score, given offside but double checked and goal was given thanks to var.

I think those that say it needs fine tuning and will improve are correct although I think it does need a bit more than fine tuning.

For me, the problem with it is that it stops the flow of the game and that's a great pity in itself; and also it's not consistent in that it's utilised selectively by the ref or because of player challenges.

I think the heart of the problem is the name itself and the concept it promotes...Video ASSISTANT referee. This implies it's only there to assist the referee on referral.

For me, it would be a whole lot better if it were actually the final arbiter without contest. So for example, if a referee missed a penalty or awarded one incorrectly then a voice signal would be sent to the ref via his headphones to reverse the decision. The ref, or anyone else, wouldn't have any right to question the decision and the play would continue almost seamlessly.

I think this is the best way to move this forward so as to prevent interruptions spoiling the game and if, as I understand it, you have a panel of top class refs examining every aspect of the game forensically I would on balance accept their decision before anyone elses. Always accepting of course it may never be possible to get things 100% correct but that anything which promotes greater accuracy is very welcome.

The ref was a joke in that game, lost control of the game and allowed players to pressure and bully him, somehow decided that it was an intentional handball, gave a 50/50 decision to give ronaldo a pen after initially waving play on, gave a yellow card to ronaldo for an off the ball elbow to the face (surely its either not a foul (accidental) or a red card offence) etc etc.

When used properly VAR will do a lot of good imo, a good example is the spain game, 2-1 towards the end of the game, spain score, given offside but double checked and goal was given thanks to var.

i felt sorry for the Ref tbh..he got decisions correct only for VAR to tell him he might have got them wrong so take another look..the presure of a group of your colleagues suggesting this added to by players histrionics and the crowd must be massive..he is taking that walk with a bias view..
offside is clear so fair enough..the rest is just as likely to be contentious as the original decision....what next..a crowd vote where we all hold up cards.?

I think those that say it needs fine tuning and will improve are correct although I think it does need a bit more than fine tuning.

For me, the problem with it is that it stops the flow of the game and that's a great pity in itself; and also it's not consistent in that it's utilised selectively by the ref or because of player challenges.

I think the heart of the problem is the name itself and the concept it promotes...Video ASSISTANT referee. This implies it's only there to assist the referee on referral.

For me, it would be a whole lot better if it were actually the final arbiter without contest. So for example, if a referee missed a penalty or awarded one incorrectly then a voice signal would be sent to the ref via his headphones to reverse the decision. The ref, or anyone else, wouldn't have any right to question the decision and the play would continue almost seamlessly.

I think this is the best way to move this forward so as to prevent interruptions spoiling the game and if, as I understand it, you have a panel of top class refs examining every aspect of the game forensically I would on balance accept their decision before anyone elses. Always accepting of course it may never be possible to get things 100% correct but that anything which promotes greater accuracy is very welcome.

it might imply to you that its only there to assist the ref on referral but thats not actually what its been used for.
the ref is being asked to take another look at what the VAR refs think he got wrong..not sure how you can fine tune people into see players being wrestled to the ground..or figuring out that its impossible to get your hand ou the way from 2 yards when your not looking..
anywayz i didnt ennjoy the second half yesterday doubt anyone did..

Watching the Portugul v Iran game last night made me fear for the beautiful game that is football.

Firstly I have to say the referee lost it last night but what was more worrying was every time there was a major decision to be made you had players pressurising the referee to go to VAR and boy did he go to it.

The game became so disjointed is was as bad as watching Rugby, the game was destroyed by the ref with VAR, if you noticed there were only 6 minutes added after all subs had been used which meant that only 3 minutes were added for VAR time when in reality upwards of 10 minutes were lose when the referee was consulting VAR, we the spectators are being short changed by this nonsense. THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME AS WE KNOW IT lets go back to leaving it to the referee and see a few mistakes in the game. its better for it

Although the ref was farcical last night not once did he go to VAR because of player pressure, every time he did it was on advice of the VAR room.

Watching the Portugul v Iran game last night made me fear for the beautiful game that is football.

Firstly I have to say the referee lost it last night but what was more worrying was every time there was a major decision to be made you had players pressurising the referee to go to VAR and boy did he go to it.

The game became so disjointed is was as bad as watching Rugby, the game was destroyed by the ref with VAR, if you noticed there were only 6 minutes added after all subs had been used which meant that only 3 minutes were added for VAR time when in reality upwards of 10 minutes were lose when the referee was consulting VAR, we the spectators are being short changed by this nonsense. THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME AS WE KNOW IT lets go back to leaving it to the referee and see a few mistakes in the game. its better for it

Disagree 100% - I'd much rather wait a minute for the ref to watch the video when we are talking about penalties being awarded and offside goals being called, especially when hundreds of millions is at stake.

The ref was a joke in that game, lost control of the game and allowed players to pressure and bully him, somehow decided that it was an intentional handball, gave a 50/50 decision to give ronaldo a pen after initially waving play on, gave a yellow card to ronaldo for an off the ball elbow to the face (surely its either not a foul (accidental) or a red card offence) etc etc.

When used properly VAR will do a lot of good imo, a good example is the spain game, 2-1 towards the end of the game, spain score, given offside but double checked and goal was given thanks to var.

i felt sorry for the Ref tbh..he got decisions correct only for VAR to tell him he might have got them wrong so take another look..the presure of a group of your colleagues suggesting this added to by players histrionics and the crowd must be massive..he is taking that walk with a bias view..
offside is clear so fair enough..the rest is just as likely to be contentious as the original decision....what next..a crowd vote where we all hold up cards.?

Yeah I really don't know why they kept calling the ref to have another look like you say its basically as good as telling the ref he got the decision wrong. Saying that I feel if it was a stronger ref who felt less pressurised from the players he would have stuck by some of his original decisions (especially with the hand ball).

i think the technology is good and has a lot of potential (i.e. for offsides, clear and obvious off the ball incidents etc) but the portugal game was a good example of it being misused.

The ref was a joke in that game, lost control of the game and allowed players to pressure and bully him, somehow decided that it was an intentional handball, gave a 50/50 decision to give ronaldo a pen after initially waving play on, gave a yellow card to ronaldo for an off the ball elbow to the face (surely its either not a foul (accidental) or a red card offence) etc etc.

When used properly VAR will do a lot of good imo, a good example is the spain game, 2-1 towards the end of the game, spain score, given offside but double checked and goal was given thanks to var.

i felt sorry for the Ref tbh..he got decisions correct only for VAR to tell him he might have got them wrong so take another look..the presure of a group of your colleagues suggesting this added to by players histrionics and the crowd must be massive..he is taking that walk with a bias view..
offside is clear so fair enough..the rest is just as likely to be contentious as the original decision....what next..a crowd vote where we all hold up cards.?

Yeah I really don't know why they kept calling the ref to have another look like you say its basically as good as telling the ref he got the decision wrong. Saying that I feel if it was a stronger ref who felt less pressurised from the players he would have stuck by some of his original decisions (especially with the hand ball).

i think the technology is good and has a lot of potential (i.e. for offsides, clear and obvious off the ball incidents etc) but the portugal game was a good example of it being misused.

in an ideal world i think it would help...but its not ideal..and the saying too many cooks spoil the broth springs to mind here..
i klnow what your saying about the ref being stronger....but how would any of us react being asked to review something youve done and thought was right when you know full well its not one person questioning what you did but a panel ..

Refs have always made mistakes before VAR, and are still making them with VAR. Personally, I would prefer the game to flow without having to refer to VAR to confirm every marginal decision. The game has prospered for a long time without it, and I think it will continue to do so with or without it. We are going to see players giving the VAR sign to refs all the time before long, and between showing imaginary cards, the VAR sign, wrestling at corners, the injuries sustained if a player comes within touching distance, there won't be a lot of time left for actually playing the game.

Refs have always made mistakes before VAR, and are still making them with VAR. Personally, I would prefer the game to flow without having to refer to VAR to confirm every marginal decision. The game has prospered for a long time without it, and I think it will continue to do so with or without it. We are going to see players giving the VAR sign to refs all the time before long, and between showing imaginary cards, the VAR sign, wrestling at corners, the injuries sustained if a player comes within touching distance, there won't be a lot of time left for actually playing the game.

You're absolutely right about this

Var cryteria is to correct obvious mistakes by ref so far its telling refs they've made mistake even when 3yrds away like last nights 2 decisions, very large percentage of var decisions only 2 or 3 have actually been errors just because ref changes mind doesnt mean he was wrong in 1st place either that or all the refs are crap as cannot make mind up from 3yds away! Var is inconsistant to say the least and always will be because of human factor, yes get it right like ofside but what about handball last night or kane being rugby tackled like others but no revue or if was no pen? But main trouble is ref sees things perfectly from his viewpoint couple yds away but var uses 26 camera angles plus super slow motion to make decision no wonder refs change their minds! Ultimately var will take over refs job as its been doing so far

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

Like last night funny enough his actions were identical to that in spain game going into the defenders legs? Thats why ref 3yds away was adamant he wasnt fouled but var thought other wise using slow motion and upteen different angles.! It took them nearly a minute to tell ref thats how sure they were it was a foul? And var was only person in world thought defender deliberately used his arm for the pen? Now that was a joke decision or did u think it was handball?

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

Like last night funny enough his actions were identical to that in spain game going into the defenders legs? Thats why ref 3yds away was adamant he wasnt fouled but var thought other wise using slow motion and upteen different angles.! It took them nearly a minute to tell ref thats how sure they were it was a foul? And var was only person in world thought defender deliberately used his arm for the pen? Now that was a joke decision or did u think it was handball?

No way was that deliberate handball. Had his back to it, and the ball struck him from almost point blank. I actually agreed with the pundits on tv (always a first for everything), and as they said, that decision was an absolute joke.

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

Like last night funny enough his actions were identical to that in spain game going into the defenders legs? Thats why ref 3yds away was adamant he wasnt fouled but var thought other wise using slow motion and upteen different angles.! It took them nearly a minute to tell ref thats how sure they were it was a foul? And var was only person in world thought defender deliberately used his arm for the pen? Now that was a joke decision or did u think it was handball?

No way was that deliberate handball. Had his back to it, and the ball struck him from almost point blank. I actually agreed with the pundits on tv (always a first for everything), and as they said, that decision was an absolute joke.

Only conclusion can make is the refs have no confidence in their own decision making as like most other var decisions they are apposite to what ref gave in 1st place? Its ok looking at things in 26 different directions or in slow motion totally diferent to looking at something couple yards away! Love someone to explain how the rugby tackling in pen area are not var revued or if they are why are they not pens? Becausd there are a lot of blind officials on and off pitch there as not been one obvious error with a foul in box
Given by ref yet there as been lots of obvious fouls from corners/free kicks that var as not seen

Doubt anyone here would have been complaining if it had taken the ref a minute to give Hoilett's goal against QPR last season etc

Doubt anyone here would have been complaining if it had taken the ref a minute to give Hoilett's goal against QPR last season etc

no of course they wouldnt but would be complaining about other decisions that went against us especially if they were the totally inconsistent VAR stuff we have had in this WC.

Doubt anyone here would have been complaining if it had taken the ref a minute to give Hoilett's goal against QPR last season etc

no of course they wouldnt but would be complaining about other decisions that went against us especially if they were the totally inconsistent VAR stuff we have had in this WC.

Your right var as been very in consistent but people/pundits can only say it gets the decisions right nothing about the blatent mistakes var makes or fact it is telling refs that they are basically wrong when not awarding pens ! Bet not one pen actually given by ref as been overturned by var yet all other pens have been given after var stepped in when ref initially said no, why are refs wrong when dont give pen yet are right if they do on every occasion? Very odd

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

Like last night funny enough his actions were identical to that in spain game going into the defenders legs? Thats why ref 3yds away was adamant he wasnt fouled but var thought other wise using slow motion and upteen different angles.! It took them nearly a minute to tell ref thats how sure they were it was a foul? And var was only person in world thought defender deliberately used his arm for the pen? Now that was a joke decision or did u think it was handball?

No way was that deliberate handball. Had his back to it, and the ball struck him from almost point blank. I actually agreed with the pundits on tv (always a first for everything), and as they said, that decision was an absolute joke.

Only conclusion can make is the refs have no confidence in their own decision making as like most other var decisions they are apposite to what ref gave in 1st place? Its ok looking at things in 26 different directions or in slow motion totally diferent to looking at something couple yards away! Love someone to explain how the rugby tackling in pen area are not var revued or if they are why are they not pens? Becausd there are a lot of blind officials on and off pitch there as not been one obvious error with a foul in box
Given by ref yet there as been lots of obvious fouls from corners/free kicks that var as not seen

All very well viewing the incident in slow motion from umpteen different angles. In slow motion, there is probably a second or two where the ball travels before hitting his hand. Unfortunately, the game is not played in slow motion (unless it's swansea) and the ref sees everything in real time. These refs are supposedly the best in the world, and yet it appears they are almost being undermined by this VAR. It must lead to the refs being more nervous and ultra cautious knowing everything is subject to scrutinisation, and that they may have to change their minds at any time. Can't be good for confidence knowing you are likely to be proved to have made an incorrect decision a few times during a game.

It should only be used by the red when contending a goal scoring opportunity ie pen/offside and violent conduct/diving. “Contact” is not enough for me to award penalties - Ronaldo’s dive plus wink v Spain should have been caught imo

he was fouled

Like last night funny enough his actions were identical to that in spain game going into the defenders legs? Thats why ref 3yds away was adamant he wasnt fouled but var thought other wise using slow motion and upteen different angles.! It took them nearly a minute to tell ref thats how sure they were it was a foul? And var was only person in world thought defender deliberately used his arm for the pen? Now that was a joke decision or did u think it was handball?

No way was that deliberate handball. Had his back to it, and the ball struck him from almost point blank. I actually agreed with the pundits on tv (always a first for everything), and as they said, that decision was an absolute joke.

Only conclusion can make is the refs have no confidence in their own decision making as like most other var decisions they are apposite to what ref gave in 1st place? Its ok looking at things in 26 different directions or in slow motion totally diferent to looking at something couple yards away! Love someone to explain how the rugby tackling in pen area are not var revued or if they are why are they not pens? Becausd there are a lot of blind officials on and off pitch there as not been one obvious error with a foul in box
Given by ref yet there as been lots of obvious fouls from corners/free kicks that var as not seen

All very well viewing the incident in slow motion from umpteen different angles. In slow motion, there is probably a second or two where the ball travels before hitting his hand. Unfortunately, the game is not played in slow motion (unless it's swansea) and the ref sees everything in real time. These refs are supposedly the best in the world, and yet it appears they are almost being undermined by this VAR. It must lead to the refs being more nervous and ultra cautious knowing everything is subject to scrutinisation, and that they may have to change their minds at any time. Can't be good for confidence knowing you are likely to be proved to have made an incorrect decision a few times during a game.

Tonight shows why var isnt what's needed? Precisely same handball incident as last night both went to revue one given one not shows var doesn't always get the correct decision

I think another issue that VAR is causing in the WC is that the early situations that come up then set a standard for the rest of the tournament and especially in regards to things like the handball awards we've seen given.

I think another issue that VAR is causing in the WC is that the early situations that come up then set a standard for the rest of the tournament and especially in regards to things like the handball awards we've seen given.

When or if they analyse all var decisions upto now can only think of one instance of an obvious error by officials ? ( original reason for var) Yes var as helped at corners but even then some decisions were questionable ! T the rationale for using var as been forgotten and its now being used when its not supposed to be , it will go way of rugby with ref asking var can he award a pen/goal yes or no?

I think another issue that VAR is causing in the WC is that the early situations that come up then set a standard for the rest of the tournament and especially in regards to things like the handball awards we've seen given.

When or if they analyse all var decisions upto now can only think of one instance of an obvious error by officials ? ( original reason for var) Yes var as helped at corners but even then some decisions were questionable ! T the rationale for using var as been forgotten and its now being used when its not supposed to be , it will go way of rugby with ref asking var can he award a pen/goal yes or no?

I agree it's being used when it shouldn't and that's disappointing.

Watching the Portugul v Iran game last night made me fear for the beautiful game that is football.

Firstly I have to say the referee lost it last night but what was more worrying was every time there was a major decision to be made you had players pressurising the referee to go to VAR and boy did he go to it.

The game became so disjointed is was as bad as watching Rugby, the game was destroyed by the ref with VAR, if you noticed there were only 6 minutes added after all subs had been used which meant that only 3 minutes were added for VAR time when in reality upwards of 10 minutes were lose when the referee was consulting VAR, we the spectators are being short changed by this nonsense. THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME AS WE KNOW IT lets go back to leaving it to the referee and see a few mistakes in the game. its better for it

VAR is brilliant for football. Would you be saying that it’s a waste of time if VAR ruled out a goal against City in the last game of the season to keep us up and another windfall of 200m? The important thing in sport is not only the enjoyment but to make sure that the correct result is achieved otherwise it’s pointless waltacking it. How can you say that the best team won a certain game or the League if they had all the decisions go their way. Decision do not even themselves out.

Football is light years behind other sports where technology has been used to good effect for a long time, rugby, tennis, cricket, American Football. It’s about time that Football caught up with time. Goaline technology was the first step & VAR the second.

1 wrong decision can cost a club their status and 200m. A no brainier particularly when the standard of refereeing is not the best.