Has VAR made football better or worse?

VIDEO Assistant Referee — or VAR — seems a thorn in the side in professional football. It was introduced to eradicate cheating by players deliberately drifting into offside positions. Yet there is nothing wrong with VAR or the offside rules; it’s footballers who need to adapt.

STEVEN DJOGO, Bedford. HoW many fans like me will never attend a Premier League match while VAR is being used? Goals are being denied because a faceless official has decided a player’s toenail is offside. VAR takes the excitement out of the game because of the length of time to make decisions.

TREVOR NOTLEY, Goffs Oak, Herts.

THE crazy offside rules should be simplified. It should be the case that a player is offside only if both feet are goal side of the imaginary offside line. Most goals are scored with the feet, not the shoulder, big toe or nose, so put some realism back into the game.

A. STUPPLES, Wigan, Lancs. WHY doesn’t the FA try out the system used in cricket: if in doubt, adhere to the umpire’s decision? In football, it is impossible to be 100 per cent sure of offside because of the frame-by-frame nature of the incident being viewed — one frame it’s onside, the next it’s offside. So it surely makes sense to stand by the referee’s assistant’s decision.

WILLIAM HARDON, London SW8.

DOES VAR stand for Very Ambiguous Results?

B. D. WATERS, London N15. tHeRe should be no offside in the opponent’s half up to the 18-yard line. the penalty area could have markings from touchline to touchline so officials and fans could gauge if a player was offside.

K. SUNDERLAND, Huddersfield.