Ah, that age old debate of VAR once again. Of course, it’s not age old at all, but it feels like we have been here and debated it’s use so many times that it’s been in the game for many years.
Everyone has an opinion, and to be honest when you look at the general consensus, most former pros, pundits, players, managers, and fans have largely reacted negatively to VAR, not that it will make a slight bit of difference to the powers that be, who say they were always expecting teething problems.
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But how long can we let those ‘teething problems’ be the excuse for VAR? Or more importantly, an over-use of VAR, according to former Chelsea player Pat Nevin anyway, who has once again been questioning the use of VAR in his latest column on the Chelsea website.
Nevin believes so many decisions are being overturned and Referee’s decisions being question based on very fine margins, and this is not a good direction to go on.
“The point I am getting at just now is that it is so close in these games that just too many are being decided by marginal or subjective refereeing decisions,” Nevin wrote.
“This isn’t bias against the officials. Let’s just say that one of our penalties might have been given in another age.
“The important thing is that if there is a tight decision the authorities seem to be in danger of disappearing down another different rabbit hole. VAR is there to help the referee, but now the thinking has turned to the VAR operators parked in some soulless office just outside London having all the power. They are deciding whether the referee has made a ‘big enough’ mistake to warrant him looking at it again on a monitor at the ground. Not just a mistake.
“The interpretation of the rules changed over the summer, and I suspect they will change again in the coming years. Referees going over to have a look should not be considered a crime against anyone’s judgement, just a natural part of the game. The way it is going now, almost every time the ref goes over it is because he has obviously got it wildly wrong. This is not too far away from the VAR team refereeing by proxy. They are making the big decisions on whether the referee gets another look to see what he thinks, and they have decided they like that power and aren’t keen to let it go.”
