INSIDE THE VAR BUNKER AT CENTRE OF THE ISSUE ROCKING FOOTBALL

IT IS midday at Stockley Park and much is still. Cyclists hum past, some relaxed enough not even to bother with handle bars. A couple of children lob fistfuls of seeds to the ducks in one of the many ponds sprinkled throughout this vast, tree-lined industrial park.

Joggers stride along too, making the most of the midday sun, while shuttle buses trundle on through picking up and dropping off on their way to Hayes & Harlington station or Heathrow airport, two and a bit miles south.

A golfer puts his tee shot just short of the green at a par 3 on the adjoining course, parts of which creep between gap sin office buildings into which the odd weekend worker strolls in and out.

In half an hour, the whistle will blow 140 miles away at Carrow Road and right here, in a small windowless room hidden away among 1.8 million square feet of office space spread across more than 25 buildings, are the men accused of sucking the soul out of football. This is the home of VAR.

Those willing to give VAR a chance will point to the correct decisions, five incorrect goals ruled out in the first two weekends and to the fact that we are only three game weeks in and still learning. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have been preparing for the introduction of VAR for more than two years and this is already the 15 th incarnation of the system. Expect that number to grow.

Those who insist, despite all that, that it is killing the enjoyment of the sport will not have changed their views after yesterday either.

Four contentious VAR calls in Norwich’s defeat by Chelsea saw Peter Crouch and Joe Cole in the BT Studios slamming what they thought constituted ‘ clear and obvious’ errors, while England and Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell proclaimed on Twitter: ‘ Don’t understand VAR’ complete with a shrugging emoji.

Brighton fans chanted ‘F*** VAR’ after Lewis Dunk’s goal was — correctly — ruled out. They were still singing it at half-time.

Boo sand jeers rang around Anfield when VAR took two minutes to check whether David Luiz should have been shown a red card for an off-the-ball incident with Mo Salah during Arsenal’s game against Liverpool yesterday.

No one knew what was going on. The chants and the emojis say more about the confused way VAR is delivered to the public both on the sofa and, more importantly, in the stands than the technology itself.

It is still not a good advert, especially when PGMOL have made such an effort to invite players, managers, journalists, broadcasters and pundits in to explain it all and to try it out themselves. The Mail on Sunday asked the Premier League if we could observe theVARs yesterday but they said not yet but possibly in the future.

In the opening weekend, Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored for Burnley in their 3-0 win over Southampton, only for there to be a check for a foul in the build-up before the goal was eventually awarded.

‘ It is weird,’ he said. ‘ For the crowd as well. Some players may not celebrate while they are waiting for the decision.’

VAR is housed on the top floor of the open-plan, glass-fronted IMG Studios, the home of Premier League Productions. The two companies have been in partnership for the past 15 years, producing all of the Premier League’ s international programmes, including all 380 matches, to nearly 200 countries around the world as far as the Solomon Islands.

That is why VAR is here. It is where all the live feeds come. Even though IMG also dips their finger into representing footballers and the most cynical of conspiracy theorists may question the legitimacy of them then helping to officiate, it is the perfect place for it. Not that you would know it was here. For all the foaming-at-themouth ferocity of the Premier League — the noise, the emotion, the spotlight — this i s as far removed as you could imagine.

The calm of waterfalls and running water only punctuated by the sporadic hammer and drill of builders in fluorescent jackets. You can see why the likes of Apple and Marks & Spencer have offices here.

Mike Riley, head of Premier League referees, arrived an hour earlier. He gave himself enough time for a quick change of clothes, a stretch and a jog around the block to prepare himself for his day spent buzzing from station to station in the heart of the VAR room.

That, too, is in contrast to its light, tranquil surroundings. If it wasn’t on the top floor, you might call it a

bunker. It’ s tucked away, no windows, just floor-to-ceiling pictures of referees in action. Michael Oliver looks far sweatier on the walls than he did when he rocked up for work in his branded tracksuit yesterday morning.

The room resembles an esports arena or a Currys shop floor with the best part of 75 screens covering every table and wall. You would not be surprised to see gamers in headsets instead of referees and video operators. Wooden slats loosely separate each booth, in which at least three pairs of eyes adjudge each match. The VAR, his assistant and the Hawkeye guy.

Each has his own two screens. Two buttons sit in front of the VAR, one green, one red.

The green is to bookmark clips, the red is to make contact with the on-field referee. It is that simple. The video operator uses his touchscreen to bring up the relevant clips, speed them up, slow them down, rewind and draw on those definitely, completely, 100-per-cent-accurate-your-honour offside lines down from Raheem Sterling’s armpit hair. There is a small open space in the middle of the arc of booths. This allows the senior observers, such as Mike Riley, post-run, to prowl around and keep tabs on everything.

While the games are on there is a low buzz of action. One former referee called it a ‘concentrated noise’. Yesterday, there were at least 20 people in the room. They have to stay focused. There can be no distractions.

Everyone must hand in their phones before they enter the room. No food is allowed in there either, so VARs must make sure they are well-fuelled before they start. No shovelling crisps into your mouth between reviews. And if you need t he l oo, you’re waiti ng unti l half-time.

That is the extent to which the referees’ body will go to make sure VAR and those implementing it work as effectively as they can.

Yet, so far, their decisions are still met with deafening noise. There is still a long way to go for Riley and Co to make VAR run as peacefully as its surroundings.