Fans fume over time wasted on VAR calls

ENGLAND legend Gary Lineker’s warning that the VAR could “suck the life” out of the game is ringing true with A-League coaches, players and viewers blowing up over the amount of time it is taking to make decisions.

Round 1 gave fans a glimpse into the frustration felt by English Premier League supporters about the way the technology has interrupted the flow of the game and the newly implemented Hawkeye system has taken off-side calls to a microscopic level.

A-League referees adviser Strebre Delovski has defended lengthy VAR delays, arguing decisions can’t be rushed when there’s “no margin for error”.

Delovski empathised with the frustrations but said the VAR’s main priority was to get it right.

“It takes some time to review and it takes some time to get the line [off-side] up,” Delovski said. “It’s impossible to get the camera angles from the operator straight up.

“We’ll look at all the camera angles available before making the decision. It’d be great if we could do it in five seconds — and I understand people want the game to flow — but ultimately we’ve made the correct decisions.

“Sometimes you have to look at it a couple of times to be 100 per cent sure the decision is wrong.

“We don’t want to rush something just for the sake of time. There’s no margin for error, we’ve got to be spot on.”

The VAR made three interventions in Sydney FC’s season-opening 3-2 win over Adelaide United on Friday night, and made the correct decision all three times.

The irritation from players, coaches and viewers came mainly through the length of time it took for a review.

New Adelaide United coach Gertjan Verbeek said the system was taking a “crazy” amount of time to settle contentious calls.

Sydney FC coach Steve Corica agreed with his Adelaide counterpart. “It is taking a little bit too long,” Corica said.

A-League boss Greg O’Rourke said he was happy with Hawkeye’s rollout.