VIDEO REFS ARE ONLY HUMAN
AFTER a series of mishaps and controversies, the ultimate calamity for the new Video Assistant Referee system came in the final of the Confederations Cup. Chile defender Gonzalo Jara plainly elbowed Timo Werner of Germany in the face but was only given a yellow card, despite repeated reviews of the replay. It was always likely to happen. The problem with VAR isn’t the V but the AR. Ultimately, the technology is only as useful as the human being studying it. In Wellington on Saturday, the men in front of the screens tried to talk match official Jerome Garces out of giving a red card to Sonny Bill Williams for a frightful challenge on Anthony Watson. Had they done so, it would have been a travesty. Fortunately, Garces knew what he saw and acted upon it regardless of outside influence. Sadly, the Confederations Cup final referee, Milorad Mazic, needed guidance and found himself listening to fools instead. The machines won’t work if operated by men who don’t know their ARs from their elbow.