FANS TURNED OFF BY ‘FARCE’
Afternoon of anger and confusion as technology makes debut
ANY suggestion that the arrival of VAR would end all debate over questionable refereeing decisions is clearly not the case judging by yesterday’s controversies at West Ham. While there was no doubting Manchester City’s excellence in their 5-0 win, it was the impact of VAR rather than the class of the champions that was the hottest topic once the dust had settled at the London Stadium.
One former Premier League star reckons fans are going to feel ‘disillusioned’, while Pep Guardiola believes VAR will change the dynamic of games.
Cries of ‘VAR is f****** s****’ rang around the stadium, adding fuel to the fire that fans are going to take a lot of persuading that the system will work. City had one goal ruled out, another given on knife-edge offside calls and a penalty retaken for encroachment — all three incidents were referred to the VAR with the customary delays involved.
Fans across the country descended on social media to vent a mixture of outrage, disbelief, indignation and occasional support at the high-tech histrionics.
And it was not just fans who were bemused. ‘I just haven’t enjoyed what’s gone on,’ said ex-Manchester United defender Paul Parker, for the BBC. ‘It’s disillusioning fans.’ His view is that the offside margins with the two goals — one scored by Gabriel Jesus was ruled out, the other by Raheem Sterling given — were so fine that there is no guarantee the technology can be that accurate. ‘The two finishes were similar,’ he said. ‘We’re talking fractions.’
Gary Lineker tweeted: ‘I’m pro VAR by the way. Always have been, but this “you’re either offside or you’re not” argument will be fine once we have the technology to prove it — and it will come. Guess it will need some sort of in- ball technology to determine exact moment of contact.’
Match officials and VAR supporters are adamant the technology used in deciding offside calls will soon be deemed as reliable as goal-line technology.
Former referee Peter Walton said: ‘We accept goal-line technology when a ball is one millimetre over the line and by the end of this season people will accept when a player is a millimetre offside.’
What is undeniable is that yesterday’s referrals caused confusion on and off the pitch. Fans were bewildered when referee Mike Dean said City had to retake a penalty after Lukasz Fabianski saved Sergio Aguero’s initial effort, VAR deciding that Declan Rice was guilty of encroachment rather than officials detecting any false move by the keeper.
And Guardiola fears the stop-start nature of VAR calls can change the course of matches. City would have been 3-0 up had the Jesus goal stood. Moments l ater only Ederson’s double- save stopped it becoming 2-1. ‘You have to be mentally strong when VAR goes against you,’ said Guardiola. ‘At 0-3 the game is almost over. Then it’s 0-2 and Ederson had to make an incredible save to keep it 1-2. You have to be calm, be strong. It will change the dynamic.’
Rio Ferdinand, working for BT Sport, said: ‘The danger is you are going to detach the game from the ordinary fan. The beauty of football is that it’s simple. But they are going to get more decisions right than wrong and that’s got to be right.’
And that view was echoed by Jamie Carragher, who tweeted: ‘VAR will have problems at times but to criticise it when it does its job is just nonsense.’
Not everyone was quite as convinced, however, with former City player David Brightwell doubtless reflecting the thoughts of thousands of fans when he tweeted: ‘It’s going to be a looooonnnngggg season watching this farce.’