VAR Revisited

A single article on VAR is never enough.

It’s not VAR that is the problem – it’s the rules and interpretation of them.

Why was the offside rule introduced? Presumably to prevent people from goal hanging so what has the rule in its current format got to do with that?

It is possible to be offside when you step inside the opposition half. That’s a long way from goal so it makes you wonder what type of behaviour that is intended to dissuade.

Then you get closer to the goal, as Liverpool did at Everton. Is the point of the offside rule to spot if somebody’s arm is slightly further forward than a defender? Of course not. Liverpool thought they had won the game, there were no complaints from Everton and yet the technology had to be used to make a mockery of things.

Whatever happened to the striker getting the benefit of the doubt? Teams are trying to score and to have a goal marked off for something like that makes the game something of a farce.

VAR does not do that on its own.

Change the offside rule. There are some bright minds out there somewhere who can change more than the kick-off not going forwards or whether it’s a drop ball when the referee gets hit by it. Give the striker the benefit of the doubt. Make it so there must be clear daylight between the striker and the defender and do not disallow a goal if you can’t make that distinction within a certain time frame.

As for the injury to Van Dijk. I can only assume they were so busy looking at the offside call that they didn’t even consider Pickford’s challenge. The offside element removed the possibility of it being a penalty, but the challenge was so reckless that it had to be a red card.

Again, that is not the fault of VAR. All this has to be interpreted by humans and they will continue to make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the game and long may they stay so but VAR, when used in conjunction with a set of rules that do the game justice can ultimately ensure a more enjoyable viewing experience than we are currently witnessing.