Question Number: 35779

Mechanics 10/28/2024

RE: Adult

Martin WAIN of Bradford, West Yorkshire United Kingdom asks...

Hi,

I suspect the controversy of VAR in football will never be solved.Looking at the latest incident in the West Ham v Man Utd game on Oct 27th.

The onfield referee clearly saw the coming together of the 2 players in the penalty area & waived both arms to confirm this & that he did not deem it to be a penalty. The VAR official (Oliver) should have accepted this & not intervened as it was not a clear & obvious error.

My question is: When the onfield referee is called to the pitch side monitor is he allowed to view the footage & make his own mind up of his own accord, or, as all officials are "miked up" is the VAR official giving him further guidance through his earpiece as to why he thinks it may be a penalty - thus leaning on the onfield referee to change his mind about his own decision - which as we know they do 9 times out of 10.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Martin
Ultimately it is the referee’s decision to make not a VAR official. So yes the reason why the pitch side monitor is there is to allow the referee to see the incident again and from additional angles and for the referee to make the final decision.

Now human nature will be at play and a referee may feel that if the VAR room thinks its a clear and obvious error not to award a penalty it will take a strong official to stick with the original decision. Having said that a referee will have one angle of view and VAR will give multiple views.

So there are upsides and downsides of VAR and video does not give a sense of the on the ground feel. It reminds me of a German phrase Fingerspitzengefühl used by IFAB many years ago. Its literal translation is ‘ fingertips feeling’.
To have Fingerspitzengefühl means to have an intuitive instinct about any given situation, and to know how to react to it without having to deliberate. It also suggests a certain tact or sensitivity that comes with experience.
In addition we know that in judgement decisions that referees can and will differ on those. A straw pool of referees will not give a 100 % result on this decision. I think the percentage of those awarding a penalty may be low certainly by looking at other referee sites.
In the Arsenal v Liverpool game there was a challenge by Konate of Liverpool on Martinelli. It was not given and it was reviewed by VAR. Perhaps if Michael Oliver was VAR on that call it might have resulted in an onfield review and a penalty lol.

I recall many years ago of an incident in a game I was officiating. There was a lame appeal for a penalty on contact between two players stood on the goal line just inside the penalty area. I did not see it as a penalty and I shouted corner kick. The lead AR made funny movements with the flag and eventually he signaled for a corner. I asked the AR at half time about the incident and he thought it was a penalty and he was unsure of the correct flag mechanics hence the faffing around with the flag. I was glad he did not flag for a foul and it shows that there was two officials looking at the same incident with two differing opinions.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Martin,
When determining the merits of any decision mired in controversy the On Field (blink of an eye from where you be) versus Arm Chair perception, which is a combination of confirmation bias and opinions seeking justice with slow motion freeze frame tech.

although VAR is in both theory & practicality an additional input to arrive at a JUST and correct decision it is STILL the on field referee's decision to decide yay or nay? The on field referee gets one shot, in a blink of an eye, from the vantage point of his line of sight to say yup or nope, MAYBES do not cut it! We are either stopping or playing! The possibility while indicating advantage in we SAW the foul, were not amused, but are in wait and see mode!

The VAR has multiple angles of view, can roll it back, freeze frame . Now VAR is restricted in interfering unnecessarily and a VAR that is constantly buzzing in for iffy decisions, just like any on field referee who does a poor job, there will be consequences!

One can only surmise SOMETHING was amiss and was important enough to suggest another evaluation. The CR is NOT obligated to accept the VAR recommendation or input same as the ARS and even the 4th official (remember the Zidane incident??? ) but as neutral sources he would be foolish not to consider the input relevant, EVEN if he disagrees! Mind you seeing it and waving it off versus being told about something he missed is indeed different! Your thinking of pressure to reverse a decision is not without merit . No one wants to see a replay showing them as being hung out to dry with a CLEAR obvious error hanging over their career status!

You are not incorrect that VAR in terms of non involvement, when or if making their opinion known in cases of no clear error is not a worry for the CR but even that has a degree of opinion as to what constitutes as such. Given pro officials are "miked up" and have a far greater degree of coordination they are no different than grassroots officials in they still strive to get the decision correct. It is not an ego thing or at least it better not be!

The generalized thinking is, " Well if he saw this as clear as I did, THAT would be THIS decision! You do not interrupt the match for trifling doubtful or sketchy situations that undermine the authority of the CR on the pitch creating doubt and long delays! Or perhaps we should say we prefer not too! Sigh .

Whatever the perks or adverse effects VAR currently has it would have been useful back in the Irish/France match when Thierry Henry illegally handled the ball in the build up to France’s extra-time winner against the Republic in the play-offs for the 2010 World Cup a decade ago and possibly altered the referee career of Esfandiar Baharmast in the Norway/Brazil match back in 98 when No on field FIFA camera caught the clear foul and the PK which won for Norway. Mind you I know Esse would have told VAR not a chance it was not. lol Or the missed German knee into the head of the Argentinian striker in Brazil 2014 which could have altered the outcome had VAR been in use! As accuracy goes it is hard to argue with the VAR tech of YES or NO even if we are splitting hairs on offside. Although all the very close decisions just seem to irritate most of us lol
Cheers