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We deserve this VARce
Long time reader, first time emailer, and have been driven to write this email by the events of England vs Cameroon this afternoon (Sunday) and the following match between France and Brazil.
Unoriginally, I want to rant about VAR. And ultimately, why we deserve what we are getting.
I was a fan when it was introduced. I thought it was necessary, that it would be a great help to referees, that the game would improve and grow around it, that it would cut refereeing controversy, and I couldn’t wait for our brave new world.
I saw those against it as footballing Luddites – and thought that a few years of usage would iron out the problems that there would undeniably be at the start.
Well, Daniel Storey, you are right and I was wrong. VAR is killing the enjoyment I am getting from the game. It is killing the very essence of what makes football great, that spontaneity of celebration when the ball hits the net is diminished. And it is not delivering on what it was set up to do. It is clandestine, unclear, long-winded, and controversial.
And the sad thing is – we deserve it.
We deserve it for what seems like a lifetime of abusing match officials.
We deserve it for national newspapers inciting death threats against referees (Urs Meier, 2004) without censure.
We deserve it for poring over marginal decisions and ripping referees to shreds.
We deserve it for managers blaming officials every time they lose a game (even if they has got the decision right!)
We deserve it for Keys and Gray.
We deserve it for 606/Final Whistle/insert radio phone-in here taking call after call from fans questioning the competence of match officials and arguing incorrectly about the laws of the game.
And you know what – the football authorities listened to us! As a society we shouted and screamed – all we wanted was correct decisions! Consistency! After all – what other conclusion would you draw apart from the fact that everyone in football was a spoilt child.
And now we don’t like the results. Well tough. This is the world we created.
And we are ALL to blame. When I was younger I shouted some appalling things at referees from the stands of the Recreation Ground, Aldershot. Guys like Darren Deadman, Gavin Ward, Roger East, who were just trying to do their best. I want to apologise to them for my irresponsibility. It shames me now. I am part of the problem.
I have lost count of the number of people on twitter saying that “I would take a few wrong decisions every now and again ahead of this”. Well good for you. But (a) I don’t believe you and (b) Pandora’s Box is now open.
And the fact that VAR can ostensibly get two decisions right (Ellen White’s goal and Nchout’s no goal) and it STILL causes massive controversy shows that it needs to go back to the drawing board.
Did the Kirby penalty appeal really need to go to VAR with 5 mins to go? How was there not at least one Cameroonian red card? And still no-one can tell whether Valerie Gauvin’s goal should have been allowed in the France game.
I’m not anti-technology. Goal-line technology has been a godsend and I think there is a place in the game for an adapted form of VAR. Video assistance works in LITERALLY every other sport. Football is not so different that it CANNOT work.
Whether some sort of challenge system would work better, I don’t know. What’s frustrating is I don’t really have an answer. I don’t think we can go back, but I don’t have a better system.
We can’t carry on like this, but I don’t know if we can fix it. Are we too far gone?
With kind regards, and sorry for the length of my tome,
Alasdair from Woking
…My starting point on VAR is that I am sceptical (it was never going to solve every decision and sometimes the cure would be worse than the disease) but also not as implacably opposed as John Nicholson. As long as it is seen and heard rarely and just deals with obvious errors I can see it being a net benefit.
However, the Women’s World Cup is demonstrating both its limitations and the fact it isn’t a magic cure. We still, above all, need good referees and linos.
In its dreadfully cumbersome way, VAR did its job in giving England and Brazil goals that clearly should have been allowed. Neither was a close offside decision, one of those hairline calls that is replayed endlessly and any reasonable person would have sympathy with the poor sap having to call it one way or the other. In both cases, a competent assistant referee would expect to make the call every time. VAR and the pantomime that it causes isn’t the problem. I buy the argument that getting it right justifies the performance, but the far better answer is to get these sorts of decisions correct in real time and to stop obsessing about 50/50 decisions that all teams sometimes get and sometimes don’t.
The problem is that an event of this stature deserves better officials and FIFA really need to consider this. The elite players on show should get the best so if male referees are needed then they need to consider that seriously. Or get Bibi Steinhaus and one or two others to do overtime.
The England vs Cameroon game also descended into farce not because of VAR but because the referee lost control of the game in the opening minutes. The next time you hear a manager complaining about a justifiably given early red card – “it ruined the game for the fans” – remember this match. There should have been a very early red for the elbow on Nikita Parris. Had that happened, it would have probably been a forgettable affair, but the safety of the players would not have been jeopardised. The blame for the dull match would lie squarely with the player who initiated an act of violence on an opponent.
What I’m saying is that VAR is potentially a great tool for a good referee to use very occasionally when s/he is unsighted, has a particularly complex decision to make, or just has a senior moment. In the hands of officials that are obviously out of their depth, it solves problems that shouldn’t have arisen in the first place and creates new ones of its own.
Apologies for being so nuanced – I am really aware that a considered view like this does very little for any media business’s bottom line in 2019. But don’t worry, I promise to get back to the usual one-eyed fare well before the start of next season that should get those clicks motoring through.
Mark Meadowcroft
…After watching the England v Cameroon game, we have never seen VAR protests quite like how the Cameroon players protested, refusing to kick off a game, I expect this may just happen in the Premier League next season, I’m not saying VAR shouldn’t be a thing but the implementation of it currently is just awful, the delays are a big issue, reviews sometimes being shown on screens within the stadium, we all want the right decision made, but it has to be implemented better and consistently.
Mikey, CFC
Ref justice
I sat rather awestruck through the England v Cameroon game today. Just yesterday, I was commenting on how dissent appears to be going unpunished in this tournament, and now I wonder what directives FIFA have given to their referees?
#1 – Not having a foot on the line when a penalty is taken is an automatic yellow card. Tell the goalkeepers – no quarter-inch.
#2. Pretty much everything else is OK. Dissent? Deal with it. Spitting? Part of the game. The coach encroaching on the field and arguing with the you? It’s OK and it’s almost half-time. The coach gesticulating at your assistant, screaming in her face and yelling at the TV cameras? Well, they’re just emotional. Players refusing to play? Just wait for them to cool down a little and blow your whistle for the restart.
#3. That about covers it. Good luck out there. You four refs are on your own. Just make sure you know where you parked your rental car.
We’ve discussed this in the mailbox a hundred times, but it’s getting worse. I admire Phil Neville for his post-match comments. FIFA will probably fine the English FA, ironically, but he said what needed to be said.
There needs to be an immediate adoption of the Rugby Union policy in addressing the referee, to wit:
#1 – Only the captain appoaches me or talks to me, Disrepect in the conversation? Yellow card.
#2 – Any other player approaches me and talks to me – yellow card. The captain gets a yellow too. Is the captain already on a yellow? Well, it’s a red. Bye bye. You can’t control your players? Not my problem, it’s not my job to control them for you.
3# – A coach who leaves his technical area to approach my or one of my assistants – immediate red card. Dressing room only or go home. If you re-emerge in the stands with a cellphone – three game ban from the ground/tournament/next tournament. And approaching me includes in the the tunnel at the start/half/restart/end.
We’ve had weekend referees who have written about the abuse they get and how they gave up contributing to the sport. Just last week here in the US was another brawl between parents and coaches watching their darlings play Little League baseball that led to multiple injuries and one person in a “serious” condition. The trigger? The umpire, who happened to be a 13-year old, warning both team’s coaches and supporters to behave in front of their kids. Apparently, that didn’t go down so well. When games start to get cancelled due to a lack of referees and assistants, well, just leave the teams to it, call their own games, and let them fist-fight their way to an appearance in court for assault.
When kids and parents see petulance and abuse on TV, they become to believe it’s OK. Especially when their little seven-year-old budding All-Star is called out at the plate by a certified umpire. As Phil Neville said, “we want the image of women’s football to be good for little girls. Cameroon’s actions were so bad for the image of the game I’ve fallen in love with.”
Cameroon demonstrated that it’s not just US helicopter parents that can shame an entire sport.
Current response from FIFA?
*crickets*
Steve, Los Angeles
Oh, and I think reading back a couple of weeks ago you might see a couple or three mails lauding the women’s game for being played in the true Corinthian spirit and the men should learn something from it. I’m a little doubtful that might be the case now.
…Ahead of all the messages (probably rightly) claiming that the ref was too weak in the England v Cameroon game and that she should have been flashing yellow cards or England should have just kicked off/ carried on playing, it is worth saying that she was in a very difficult position. As it was the match did continue and all the players stayed on the pitch (granted, there should have been unrelated reds for the elbow and the spit… and the rake at the end). If the ref had started flashing cards it would only have served to heighten the situation and would have, in all likelihood, resulted in an abandonment.
I was shouting at the TV calling it a disgrace as much as anyone but the ref had to keep a level head and ensure the game continued and was completed. This happened and so her actions cannot have been all wrong. The phrase ‘we don’t want to see this sort of thing’ is always trotted out but we do want to see this sort of thing. It is this sort of thing that gets people talking, that promotes the interest. I loved it, and I loved the France v Brazil game straight after with its own VAR controversy.
So, once all the dust is settled, Norway stand between England and a second straight World Cup semi-final. Come on England!
Micki Attridge
Out of time at Old Trafford
There’s a scene from a movie (traffik) were one character is being replaced by another and narrates a story from Russia (may not have been true) of how Krushev gave his successor telling him to read the first when in trouble the 1st time and read the 2nd the next time, When e got into the trouble the first time he opened the 1st letter and followed the instructions blaming his predecessor .When things went pear shaped the 2nd time he opened the 2nd letter and all it said was sit down write 2 letters (cos there was no one left to blame.
The reason for the preamble above besides reading too many football 365 articles is that I feel we have reached the stage were there is no place to hide for anyone at Utd to hide just to list a few
Woodward as selector of managers – He has survived 3 of his choices as manager crash and burn he won’t get a 4th , Ole at the time was a masterstroke team played well, one of our own was in charge if the new plan unfortunately doesn’t go to plan no one is going to wait for him to bring in Giggseh or the suddenly available drill sergeant Keane there will be screams for the stand for his head and quite possibly people voting with their feet (remember how the loss to cardiff played out) ,
Woodward as negotiator – i actually don’t blame Woodward for the players Utd have bought especially after I read your article on the recruitment structures .Felllaini definitely sounded like a Moyes idea, Zlatan and Perisic sounded like players Jose wanted …. I do however blame him for the time it takes.
Ole apparently wanted all his players sorted out before July 1st and while admittedly , non of the big six has bought anyone of note we seem to have the biggest need . There is still up to the end of August to sell players to other countries in Europe but it will be an indictment on his negotiation skills for players if we start the season with Young still one of our 2 main choices at right full back and worse starting
Ole – I’ve heard a lot about his naivety and inexperience and have been utterly disappointed with site’s research/ability to use google besides winning the league for the 1st time in the club’s history there is the small matter of topping a group in the Europa league that included Fenerbache (the year Nani and Van persie played) ,Ajax and Celtic so he is hardly inexperienced ,All I hear about however is his performance at Cardiff and how bad caretaker managers perform . The truth will be discovered one way or another and one thing is clear he won’t be allowed another run like the end of last season.I
The players – everyone is on to them now .They’ve got rid of the toxic Portuguese uncle now everyone is watching them ,Someone recently wrote in saying Pogba’s greatest asset was that he couldn’t be arsed actually be arsed unfortunately that is the big problem at Utd too many of the players only show up when they feel like it .
Rashford is supposedly as good as Kane he only scores half as many goals , Pogba should be as good as at least one of Bernardo and De Bruyne If they were all in the same team right now I know who would get picked the least.This is why they are capable of stopping City from winning the league and then can lose to relegated west brom the next . Why they can play wonderfully when Ole shows up ,and play like relegation fodder when his position is secure.
It maybe is why Young and Mata have been retained not so much to play but to influence the squad , it may also be why letting go of Pogba may not be the worst thing right now
Realistically Wan Bissakka needs to be in by end of next week the ,rebuild and elimination of bad seeds and deadwood needs to happen by the deadline/September and’s it’s going to be another season of pointing and laughing, or a sign of improvement expect a lot of column inches either way the countdown continues.
TIMI, MUFC
A Pep prediction
The term “you heard it here first” is thrown around a lot, but I think this prediction merits it:
I think we will see Pep Guardiola coach the world’s best women’s football team, probably Barcelona, before he retires (ie. this might be 15 years away). And I think it will be utterly fascinating, + great for continuing to increase exposure for the women’s game.
Oliver Dziggel, Geneva Switzerland
RIP, Nando
Looking back I genuwinely get more goosebumps from the Torres decider and Gary Neville goalgasm against Barcelona than the actual Drogba penalty winner in the final.
He was unplayable on his day at Liverpool (Nemaja Vidic agrees) and could well have gone down in Premier League folklore.
Rest your boots in peace Fernando.
Gaz, CFC, Sidcup (Hudson-Adoi to get the No. 10 shirt)
It’s a game
Pro tip for Tactics Tim from yesterday,
If you adopt The GTA method and rob a bank or two, you won’t have to work anymore and can watch the cricket rather than listen to it. It’s a sodding game man.
Sam, LFC (Pogba has determination 17, might be a slight error there) North Yorks
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