MY THOUGHTS: THE NEW VAR SYSTEM

VAR (or Video Assistant Referee) was employed in the FA Cup 4th round match between Liverpool and West Brom last night and it has had people talking in footballing circles.

Here are my thoughts on the matter of VAR:


DO I THINK VAR IS THE WAY TO GO FOR FOOTBALL?
Yes, for sure it is something new at the moment and the referees are learning. I see nothing wrong with VAR and I think it should be developed further. It should be in the Premier League and the EFL Leagues full time and the only current issue I see is that there is currently no way of knowing when the referee is using it. To save time for fans, referees and TV Pundits it might be an idea to have the VAR shown on the big screens around the stadiums. For stadiums that do not have big screens, monitor should be used on the side of the pitch.


DO YOU THINK THE CLASH BETWEEN CARDIFF AND MAN CITY WILL HAVE VAR?
I hope not, as our Cardiff team is ruthless, will play havoc with the Man City side and that will see Manchester City players diving and feigning fouls that are not there, just to try and get a penalty or free kick.


WHY HAS IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ENGLISH FOOTBALL TO INTRODUCE VAR?
I think that VAR for the English game of football took a while because it is such a delicate thing to introduce. But other Leagues have got it, e.g. Italy, and if they have used it and is a success, then why not the English Leagues?


WILL VAR POTENTIALLY REPLACE GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY?
Uhm, no, I think that both are crucial now to the Premier League and the EFL Leagues. Obviously VAR has mainly been used for FA Cup matches but I believe that goal-line technology has been a big and positive part of the Premier League and it will only grow better, along with VAR which (to date) has only been introduced in the FA Cup matches.


FINALLY, WHICH LEAGUE WOULD BENEFIT FROM VAR MOST?
I personally think that the EFL Championship> Maybe, if you would ask anyone else they would most likely say the Premier League. But it could be argued that the most at risk are the EFL Championship clubs, as they have more to fight for in terms of getting into the Premier League. I also think that more stuff goes on between Championship clubs rather than Premier League games and that can cause a club to lose points and/or make money that they desperately need.

DO YOU THINK THE CLASH BETWEEN CARDIFF AND MAN CITY WILL HAVE VAR?
I hope not, as our Cardiff team is ruthless, will play havoc with the Man City side and that will see Manchester City players diving and feigning fouls that are not there, just to try and get a penalty or free kick.

Ok, there is no VAR today anyway, but isn’t the above a reason to have it? If they are going to be diving everywhere like you say then VAR would benefit us

Var last night was OK but if going to get refs like last night we could be in ground all night! 2 injuries took at least 4 mins as they were both substituted, one var took 3.5 mins plus whatever var took on other decision! Yet ref only allowed 4 mins when he should add var time as well. can see it taking over the game especially in championship where there are fair few pen incidents per game not to mention offside.

Var last night was OK but if going to get refs like last night we could be in ground all night! 2 injuries took at least 4 mins as they were both substituted, one var took 3.5 mins plus whatever var took on other decision! Yet ref only allowed 4 mins when he should add var time as well. can see it taking over the game especially in championship where there are fair few pen incidents per game not to mention offside.

When the ref goes “upstairs” in rugby, the clock stops. Why not in football? why short change the fans?

Var last night was OK but if going to get refs like last night we could be in ground all night! 2 injuries took at least 4 mins as they were both substituted, one var took 3.5 mins plus whatever var took on other decision! Yet ref only allowed 4 mins when he should add var time as well. can see it taking over the game especially in championship where there are fair few pen incidents per game not to mention offside.

When the ref goes “upstairs” in rugby, the clock stops. Why not in football? why short change the fans?

Would mess my Saturdays up if they stopped the clock every time a player cheats or argues with the ref. Stop tap in my local is 11pm, I'd still be down the CCS then if they adopted that system.

Var last night was OK but if going to get refs like last night we could be in ground all night! 2 injuries took at least 4 mins as they were both substituted, one var took 3.5 mins plus whatever var took on other decision! Yet ref only allowed 4 mins when he should add var time as well. can see it taking over the game especially in championship where there are fair few pen incidents per game not to mention offside.

When the ref goes “upstairs” in rugby, the clock stops. Why not in football? why short change the fans?

Good idea but tbh it's ruined rugby because now they not only look at tries but the movement leading upto it, so can take forever as looking at least 2 incidents ! LaSt nite one incident was 4.mins long !