Match fans must be kept in the Var loop
FNever once have I been witness to anyone who, after seeking clarity from the press box, has ripped up their seat in fury
ootball is nothing without fans. Or so we have been told constantly throughout the pandemic, as the game was played behind closed doors, with the paying customer compelled by circumstances beyond anyone’s control to stay at home and watch on television. It became the favoured lockdown platitude adopted by pundit, ex-player, manager and owner alike.
Yet, now the fans are back, revivifying stadiums with their noise and energy, interacting with the players and – at Brentford among other places – the managers with renewed enthusiasm, there is one aspect of the game in which, for those in charge, their presence remains an apparent embarrassment.
Why is it that those forking out a sizeable chunk of their hard-earned cash to attend a match in person are still shut out of the conversation when it comes to refereeing decisions? While those watching at home can view the deliberations of the video assistant referee from multiple angles, replete with superimposed geometric patterning, those in the stadium looking up at the big screen in hope of enlightenment are given none, instead forced to stare at blank nothingness until a verdict appears without explanation.
And it is not just football that regards its most loyal customers with such disdain. Go to a Test match and allow your attention to wander at the precise moment a fielder spills a catch and there is no chance you will see it replayed on the big screen. While everyone at home will see the error shown over and again from half a dozen angles, in the expensive seats (and, let’s face it, no one gets into Lord’s without considerable financial investment) you are precluded from knowing what has just happened.
Apparently, it is reckoned that the fan heading through the turnstile would be so goaded should any such moment of controversy be replayed in front of their eyes, they would immediately riot. Knowledge, it is reckoned among our sporting administrators, is a dangerous thing. So incidents cannot be shown nor fans informed for fear of the repercussions. Which, in an age when most of those in the ground are connected to those watching at home via social media, is all the more absurd a principle. Fans invariably find a way to discover what is going on. So why not let them know in the most obvious and immediate way: via the big screen?
Instead, at every ground in the country the moment Var intervenes, those fans nearest to the press box, where reporters are privileged to have monitors delivering television coverage, scramble to glean information. Curiously, never once have I been witness to anyone who, after seeking such clarification, has ripped up their seat in fury and instigated mayhem. Rather, their usual response is to sigh wearily if the decision has not gone the way of their team before returning, tutting, to their position. Dangerous indeed.
But still the insistence that the match-going fan cannot be treated as a grown-up continues. There was talk over the summer of Premier League officials borrowing a long-standing habit of American football referees and using the public address system to explain their decision-making processes. Once the idea of Mike Dean going to great lengths to talk us through the intricacies of his ruling on a contested throw-in settles in the mind it is hard to be too enthusiastic about such a proposal.
But everybody heading to the game would welcome being kept in the loop of what was happening when it came to the matchinfluencing decisions of the Var. It would seem a far better use of the facility than simply using the big screen to inform us of the name of the sponsor of the man-of-thematch award.
Remember, football is nothing without the fans. So now we have acknowledged that, how about treating them finally like adults?