VAR will improve the game
It makes Premier League debut tonight and Mark Clattenburg insists...
IT saddens me that a lot of observers have gone cold on VaR just as it is about to be introduced in the Premier League at anfield tonight. I have concerns like everyone else and the idea of players and fans being cautious about celebrating goals is chief among them. I admit that the fear of a goal being disallowed is impacting on that instant excitement and release of emotion.
VaR was introduced to rid the game of obvious mistakes by referees. We all agreed officials needed help. so why bail out on VaR now? Let us instead find a solution to make it better.
Will that happen overnight? no. But it will be better in two, three,
five years’ time. The problem now is that we’re checking too many incidents. Once we find that level of what football accepts regarding the number of reviews and the length of time they take, then I believe everyone will embrace it.
For example, for decisions that are a matter of opinion, such as a possible foul leading to a penalty, I believe we should stay with the on-field decision, otherwise you end up checking every contact inside the penalty area.
another criticism is that reviews are taking too long. Many of them are but when I listened to the Premier League talk about quicker reviews, it concerned me.
It’s about getting big decisions correct — let’s look at speeding up the process later. It is a concern the Premier League are encouraging referees to rely on the advice of VaR officials rather than check the pitchside monitor.
I would always say take a look for yourself, as is the guidance from the game’s lawmakers, IFaB.
I am also worried about the Premier League changing their interpretation of the handball rule from the guidelines every other country is working towards.
I’d feel more comfortable refereeing with the new laws on handball. I feel they have been simplified and there is a clearer definition. It’s wrong that Premier League teams will be playing to different guidelines from those in europe. That is only going to lead to controversy and confusion.
For example, the Premier League say they will not award a penalty in cases such as Moussa sissoko’s handball in the Champions League final. For me, that was a penalty all day long. I don’t know why the Premier League think differently.
There has been a lot of criticism of VaR’s interference with marginal offside decisions, but if the ball is one millimetre over the line, goal-line technology confirms it’s a goal. The same should be true of offside. We can’t ignore the technology, no matter how small the margin.
I know football fans have always thought the attacking side should be given the benefit of the doubt, but if the technology is being used, then it has to be respected and implemented.
We don’t know if Premier League officials are ready for VaR — and there will be teething problems — but at least let us make some allowances.
I hope that, given time, fans, players and observers will accept VaR and appreciate its value in the Premier League.