Question Number: 32205

Other 1/30/2018

RE: Intermediate Under 14

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 32198

I'm somewhat worried about VAR & think that on the whole, referees do an excellent job. Having at least 4 pairs of eyes usually get the calls right.

What is gained by VAR could be outweighed by frequent delays...the same thing that spoils American football. Having a review, followed by an announcement can almost double the actual time that a game takes.

I'm sure sponsors would love it, but I can see a lot of disadvantages.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Phil,
yes technology has both advantages and flaws, although I think the new ball over the goal line tech works well.

I tend to believe the missed offside goals that are counted should not be allowed & the incorrect offside disallowed good goals should be. I do not think it a great stretch of time to give a thumbs up or down.We could easily go with corner kicks or goal kicks for the missed offside situation where a goal should not count. The kick off for the corrected good ones is easy as well. Although there MUST be a time limit of active play from that point of a missed call.

What will be sad is incorrectly stopped play for non offside situations that MIGHT have resulted in a goal if play had continued. Also to change the restart from an INDFK to what a drop ball? Best to let sleeping dogs lie in these cases!

A rehash of what constitutes a penalty may indeed create delays, look at the ESSE situation in 1998 where the available feeds could not id the penalty, it was an OUTSIDE agent that showed the foul 2 days later! That had HUGE match impact and was the#1 critical match situation. Yet to take away the penalty, it removes a team from the round of 16 unfairly as the tie means Norway does not advance!

I do not know just how or what to limit for a VAR review? Perhaps the VAR only for PK situations involving cards? Perhaps the sin bin or a time clock who can say but I suspect more and more of these changes to occur in the coming years!
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
On balance I believe that the VAR system is positive. As the protocols and instructions tighten up with more experience of the system the teething problems currently there will disapate.
I would rather that the correct decision is made on the field of play at the time rather than a lengthy acrimonious debate afterwards about a decision that changed a game. I can think back over many infamous incidents that we all knew were wrong at the time yet the referee and assistants were the only people that could not see the errors.
There was debate recently in the Liverpool v West Brom game where a goal was chalked off for interfering with the goalkeepers while in an offside position and the other a penalty kick for pulling back Salah of Liverpool. The issue was that those in ground did not know what was going on and felt somewhat in the dark on what was being reviewed. There was no debate though about the actual decisions which was positive.