VAR

[Sigmar]

This week alone we've seen some great instances of VAR changing a Ref's mind.
On Tuesday Barca failed to be awarded a penalty in the game against United when VAR proved Fred played the ball and not the man.

More astonishingly VAR stopped City progressing to the semi-finals of the ECL when VAR proved a goal to be off side.

Now we have seen how this is being used, is the game better for it or not ?

Personally I think that it's use has improved the game and taken the burden off the shoulders of the Ref in contentious situations, it is an asset, I'm also glad to see that it is not being used to decide normal run of the mill decisions and that the Ref still has a large amount of control over the game.

[raycreative]

This week alone we've seen some great instances of VAR changing a Ref's mind.
On Tuesday Barca failed to be awarded a penalty in the game against United when VAR proved Fred played the ball and not the man.

More astonishingly VAR stopped City progressing to the semi-finals of the ECL when VAR proved a goal to be off side.

Now we have seen how this is being used, is the game better for it or not ?

Personally I think that it's use has improved the game and taken the burden off the shoulders of the Ref in contentious situations, it is an asset, I'm also glad to see that it is not being used to decide normal run of the mill decisions and that the Ref still has a large amount of control over the game.

Great conversation topic

My opinion is that it is supremely benificial in offside decisions like we saw last last night
In the modern game the players move so fast that it is impossible to judge hen a defender sprinting out crosses a forward sprinting in
VAR gets it completely right
Also we saw it with United last week when there was a goal against us ruled out for offside which was wrong
The lineman was watching the centre fprward with the centre half(as indeed i was) and missed the full back playing him on

Where the problem is and it does need clearing up is handball
I watched the Spurs goal last night about 50 times and i still don't know if it hit his hand before his thigh
And if it did was it handball as he was in a "natural position" and what does it mean "did he gain an advantage?"
Clarity across the board is needed on hand balls

[ArizonaRed]

I do not think VAR can help in cases where subjectivity plays a part of the call; hand ball, simulation, late hit or dangerous plays. However, the ball crossing the goal line or offside, then VAR is a great tool and for me the bottom line is that the correct team will be semis because technology made the right call.

Used correctly VAR will be a great benefit for the game but I do not want to see the game turned into a NFL where every challenge is questioned and autopsied.

[RedSte]

Guardiola's at the wheel
tell me how good did it feel?
When Sterling scored right at the death
But the goal was ruled out by the ref
Der der de-de-de-de-der
The greatest invention by far
is VAR

[Sandies]

This week alone we've seen some great instances of VAR changing a Ref's mind.
On Tuesday Barca failed to be awarded a penalty in the game against United when VAR proved Fred played the ball and not the man.

More astonishingly VAR stopped City progressing to the semi-finals of the ECL when VAR proved a goal to be off side.

Now we have seen how this is being used, is the game better for it or not ?

Personally I think that it's use has improved the game and taken the burden off the shoulders of the Ref in contentious situations, it is an asset, I'm also glad to see that it is not being used to decide normal run of the mill decisions and that the Ref still has a large amount of control over the game.

Great conversation topic

My opinion is that it is supremely benificial in offside decisions like we saw last last night
In the modern game the players move so fast that it is impossible to judge hen a defender sprinting out crosses a forward sprinting in
VAR gets it completely right
Also we saw it with United last week when there was a goal against us ruled out for offside which was wrong
The lineman was watching the centre fprward with the centre half(as indeed i was) and missed the full back playing him on

Where the problem is and it does need clearing up is handball
I watched the Spurs goal last night about 50 times and i still don't know if it hit his hand before his thigh
And if it did was it handball as he was in a "natural position" and what does it mean "did he gain an advantage?"
Clarity across the board is needed on hand balls

Spot on, but they have clarified the rule starting next year.

Personally I believe VAR has got the 2 handballs right in our PSG game and Spurs City game.

Where VAR is wrong is when you still get a cowardly ref not sending off Salah, so human error still remains

[Dante]

Where the problem is and it does need clearing up is handball
I watched the Spurs goal last night about 50 times and i still don't know if it hit his hand before his thigh
And if it did was it handball as he was in a "natural position" and what does it mean "did he gain an advantage?"
Clarity across the board is needed on hand balls

This is definitely a current issue, I believe there is supposed to be clarification on it in the summer, but it's not a binary thing like did it cross the line, so there will always be an element of subjectivity to it.

[Sigmar]

What is everyone view of VAR now ?

Three and a half minutes to make a decision ? a players left big toe offside ?

The decisions in the City Liverpool game alone have convinced me that VAR is terrible and should be removed from the game.
i've seen many changes in the game since I used to stand in the paddock, some good some bad, but VAR has to be the devils incarnation of idiocy.

It's so bad, I have vowed not to watch EPL football, or any football where VAR is used as a decision maker, money and particularly SKY TV have ruined the game. It's a PIA

[Relly]

I absolutely hate it. It's changing the game and not for the better, in fact it's starting to turn me off a the sport. To have your team score a goal that is maybe on teetering on the edge of offside and then have VAR look at it for 3 minutes and then possibly overturn it, that's not football. I know sometimes these situations can work against your team too, but that's sort of the whole point.

[Sigmar]

Gary Lineker once again going into hypocrite mode, caling for VAR to be scrapped bcause it is ruining the game.
If it were not for pundits like him analysing every move and watching slow motion replays 20 times over, we wouldn't be in this mess.

We've now had players literally millimetres offside, when you have to draw an imaginary line across a football pitch, and then another line vertical to it, to decide if a player is offside or not, you know VAR has gone too far

[raycreative]

VAR was brought in to clear up decisions and take a look to see if anything was obviously wrong
For things that are CLEARLY wrong it is working
However it has not cleared up the armpit offside decisions and if anything is causing more confusion than it is worth on the stupidly tight calls

It doesn't want binning but clarification and intent needs redefining

[Sigmar]

VAR was brought in to clear up decisions and take a look to see if anything was obviously wrong
For things that are CLEARLY wrong it is working
However it has not cleared up the armpit offside decisions and if anything is causing more confusion than it is worth on the stupidly tight calls

It doesn't want binning but clarification and intent needs redefining

It wants binning when the people making the decision do't know the rules
Wolves have a goal ruled as off side, because a players hand was offside, yet the law clearly states any part of the body EXCEPT hands and arms !!

[Ole]

[Sigmar]

Seems Legit

[Dante]

Premier League has to try and make VAR better, says chief executive Richard Masters

The Premier League has to "try and make the video assistant referee better", says chief executive Richard Masters.

More than two-thirds of Premier League fans questioned believe VAR has made the game less enjoyable, a YouGov survey has found.

There have been several controversial decisions involving VAR since it was introduced to the league this season.

"I don't think VAR has been damaging but I accept it needs improvement," Masters told BBC Sport.

"Scrapping it is not an option - what we have to do is try and make VAR better."

VAR has been brought in to the Premier League to decide on goals, penalties, red cards and offside decisions.

Masters, who was appointed on a permanent basis in December after being in temporary charge for more than a year, said the Premier League would discuss changes to VAR with the clubs in April.

"We are going to have a debate about what sort of VAR they would like next season and what improvements can be made to the system," he said.

"It's going to be a work in progress this season and next as we try to rebalance it so you get the positives of better decision-making and fewer of the perceived negatives about delay and sometimes confusion."

The Premier League has previously promised to improve VAR's consistency and speed and increase communication with fans.

Six out of 10 of those fans surveyed by YouGov felt the system was working badly.

Masters said that VAR is delivering on the "principal reason" for its introduction in improving the accuracy of decision-making.

"In key match incidents we are up to 94% accuracy with officials, 97% with their assistants, so we are seeing an impact on results and a positive impact on the league table," he said.

"Obviously there are issues with consistency of decision-making and delays, which people don't like.

"But I don't think VAR is harming the product - attendances are up, TV audiences are up, the health of the Premier League is very good."

More stuff, but not related to VAR in the original link