Time to sideline VAR system in A-League
IT IS time for A-League officials to suspend the use of the Video Assistant Referee system.
I was sceptical from its very inception that the use of video technology, other than goalline technology, would improve the game.
After a series of contentious and confusing decisions, VAR is not benefiting the game at all, it is alienating the supporter base.
Read the comments below any story relating to the farcical sending off of Wellington Phoenix defender Ryan Lowry on Sunday, and you will feel the disgust and anger of fans.
Lowry was shown a straight red card by referee Adam Kersey for a tackle on Perth’s Chris Ikonomidis, after being alerted to a possible incident by video official Nick Waldron.
It was a bewildering few minutes.
Kersey was only metres away from the incident and had rightly awarded a free kick, but not a red card.
Play then stopped as Kersey referred to the video, and even the commentators seemed incredulous as a red card was produced.
Wellington were leading 1-0 at the time and the decision may have cost them the win as Perth gained ascendancy late in the game to grab a 1-1 draw.
Phoenix coach Mark Rudan was on the mark when he said: “There was no reaction from the Perth players. There was certainly no reaction from us. I was very surprised when he came over to have a look at that.”
If you ever need to know that a decision is right, look for the players’ reactions. The Perth players were not complaining, they were getting set for the free kick.
OK, so the referee has made the wrong decision. It happens, even though it shouldn’t with the use of VAR.
But to compound the situation, Lowry will still serve a one-match suspension, even though the referees’ boss has admitted the decision was wrong.
FFA director of referees Ben Wilson revealed only a yellow card should have been shown, but said the suspension would still stand.
“In the Referees Department’s weekly post-round review, it was determined that the correct outcome should have been a yellow card for a reckless tackle,” Wilson said.
The Phoenix lodged an application with the Match Review Panel to have the card dismissed as an “obvious error”.
However, the panel dismissed the Phoenix’s application and stood by the referee’s decision, despite Phoenix chief executive David Dome saying A-League boss Greg O’Rourke had indicated to him that the use of VAR in that situation was a mistake.
Wilson explained why the suspension remains in place.
“You will have seen that earlier this afternoon the Match Review Panel did not overturn the red card issued to Lowry,” he said.
“The reason for this is that the MRP can only overturn a red card if all three MRP members determine that in the circumstances, no card was warranted.”
So, to break it down: the referee makes the wrong call in sending the player off; the referee’s boss admits it was an error; but the player still serves the penalty for a red card offence.
Sorry, I am truly confused. Actually I am disgusted and frustrated, as well as perplexed by this logic.
You can’t change the impact the sending off had on the match, but surely if the offence did not warrant a dismissal, the player (and therefore his club) should not be punished for it.
Technology will be part of the game, but until we can get it right, it needs to be put back on the bench.