Apply common sense over VAR
DISALLOWING a Liverpool goal because Diogo Jota’s sleeve was deemed to be marginally offside in the build- up shows how badly we are using technology. Most VAR problems are due to offside calls and over the course of a season every team will be wrongly robbed of that euphoric moment of scoring. If we have to keep VAR, let’s at least apply some common sense and only draw lines between the boots of the attacker and the last defender for offside.
This pursuit of perfection is idiotic. Nobody cared before technology where a striker’s armpit or shoulder was positioned. In football, the feet should be offside for a goal to be chalked off — nothing else matters. I WOULD like to have seen Douglas Luiz head injury checked for longer rather than Aston Villa having to decide whether to let the player continue or make a permanent substitution.
Concussion subs are a step forward but don’t really work unless clubs are allowed the option of making them temporary and that the originally injured player can return to action if more comprehensive tests show they are all right to continue.
I blame the current rules. Clubs have a limited choice of either changing their player for the rest of the game, or letting him continue. There should be a third way, temporary substitutions, so a head injury can be properly checked for 15 minutes or more without a team being reduced to 10 men, or ruling out the injured player for the rest of the game. I’M sure England’s forward players will be disappointed if Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t make the Euro squad. His winner against Villa was further proof if we needed it that he can do things no other English fullback can. I know Gareth Southgate is spoilt for choice in that position and someone will have t o miss o ut , but it really shouldn’t be Trent.
England will dominate the ball in our group games against Scotland and the Czech Republic and possibly Croatia, too, so I’d start Trent. If you come up against a specialist winger like Leroy Sane, there is an argument for playing Kyle Walker but at least have Trent in the group for that option.