17 Nov 2023 18:22:42
sgynwa has written anarticle entitled, My 2 cents on VAR technology and football
17 Nov 2023 20:49:19
Yeah, interesting, and I like your 'humble reflections'.
With offsides I think we need to get back to 'level' being onside. And this should be in the VAR laws the way it was applied before VAR - with a large margin.
Disallowing a goal because an attacker is leaning a centimetre further forward than the defender isn't a cheated advantage. Often times it is a very very well-timed run. Offside should be daylight in-between, which is a badly timed run.
17 Nov 2023 21:12:05
Agree with a lot of your post mate, the rules of the game make VAR unworkable! For all subjective calls the ref should be watching the screen themselves and not relying on VAR for descriptions, if it’s a penalty and the ref has missed it the VAR should review it quickly 30s and say yeah there is a subjective decision to be made, find the clearest angle and play at full speed for the ref at the screen! Better yet play it on the big screen in the stadium and that would save loads of time. For subjective calls the ref should only be looking at a replay 2/ 3 times, if he needs a better angle then ask for it but this freeze frame rubbish from 20 different angles to see if there was a microscopic touch of the ball is nonsense and does not scream to me clear and obvious error.
Offsides should be automated as in other leagues as they are miles faster!
My biggest gripe is VAR re- reffing a game, spending 4 minutes reviewing an incident and then sending the ref to the monitor to make the same decision. People would be far more accepting if VAR or ref said potential foul, this is a subjective decision I want to have a quick look, jog over 30s look at the incident in full speed once or twice and make the decision…it ain’t perfect but all this forensic analysis ain’t working and is turning the refs/ VAR into the main attraction and that shouldn’t be the case.
18 Nov 2023 02:10:03
Agree with all of that, but take away the clear and obvious aspect too, as surely all we want is the right decision at the end of the day.
18 Nov 2023 06:52:48
Thanks Keith. Totally missed out on the clear and obvious part.
Currently, the goal of VAR seems to be
- eliminate human error
- especially clear and obvious error
But this goal is actually not attainable within football because the bulk of decisions are subjective Or the current technology or its implementation disrupts the ebb and flow of the game too much (i. e., offsides) .
So instead of perfecting referring and eliminating clear and obvious errors, my thoughts are, the goal of VAR is to improve informed decision making.
= Mistaken identity =
How is it improved? In brain fart moments or when too many players are involved in the incident, VAR is used to help the onfield ref to see clearly who they wanted to card or send off. This ensures they punish the right players and won't be left embarrassed after the incident that they had mistaken A for B.
= Direct red cards =
how is it implemented? as stated in my post
i) full speed replays only, no slow motion
ii) no freeze frame, play the incident with 10s before and 10s after the critical moment so that context is fully in consideration
iii) review from the angle closest to the original angle of the ref, so they are reminded what they saw and what they may have missed
iv) VAR to show the angle that may provide the ref the info they need to make a decision (i don't really know how to do it, but i feel its possible and just find it funny because it seems VAR doesn't give the ref meaningful angles while the HT and FT reviews always seem to have good angles that help us understand the situation fully)
v) replays at max 2 times
How is it improved? The ref gets additional info they may not had earlier to make a more informed decision. It may help them be more confident about their earlier decision or enable them to change their minds objectively and clearly since they now have a better view of the incident
= penalty decisions and goals =
How can this be implemented and improved? clean up the rules, establish clear boundaries and practices for its implementation as per above and hopefully it would work better.