VAR - good or bad for the game?

[SpokeyDokey]

ALL games are lost or won on the basis of an incorrect decision. The decision of the goalie to dive to his left and the striker kicks it the other way. The winger passing to the centre forward but he's dispossessed while there was a player in a better position completely unmarked who would have scored. The manager picking the wrong player for that particular game. Loads more examples like that.

So you're there at the ground willing your team on and after many frustrating attempts, your team score. That's good, isn't it? Well no it's not, not yet anyway because before you can cheer or shout or yell your joy at seeing it, you have to wait until they let you know if you're allowed to! It's an absolute disgrace where the very reason you go to watch your team (the overwhelming joy at seeing a goal) is now denied you. The match-going fan, the very essence of the game, the ones who give it the atmosphere the couchies are watching it for, is treated like an inconvenience by those who think the game should be played and decided by computer.

It bothers me and everybody I know MASSIVELY that our reason to go to the games has been taken away from us.

The first para' of your reply is utterly absurd. The two sets of incorrect decisions are not comparable as you well know.

You don't like VAR then so be it. If you are content to prioritise spontaneous celebration over making the correct decision in circumstances that may well affect the final outcome of the game then, imo, that is a rather strange choice.

I do find your attitude towards those who cannot get to matches to see their team rather arrogant.

Those 'couchies' that you refer to so disparagingly and who form LFC's global fan base pump far more money, directly or indirectly, into the club's coffers than those fans who attend matches on the day. Without them LFC and all the other EPL clubs would be dead in the water in their current format. .

I watched a large contingent of Nigerian fans celebrate our CL victory on Saturday and it was brilliant to watch and, to me at least, they are on an equal footing to the hard core of CFC fans who are STH's. CFC is as much their club as those who think their affiliation is hard wired into their DNA for whatever reason. Usually because they live within striking distance of the home ground or because their forebears supported the team.

 

[Seevio]

There is an argument that the "true" football fans watch on tv as they will get to see the actual football a whole lot better than those who just go to the ground for the matchday experience. The bigger the ground, the less you will see of the action.

I'm trolling of course. Just enjoy football however you want to enjoy it.

 

[Seevio]

With regards to VAR, the idea is good but the implementation is somewhat lacking.

I like that judgment (as opposed to factual, like offside) decisions have been given back to the ref on the pitch. I like that the ref can check that their decisions are correct before doing something game changing.

What I don't like is the situation where a goal is scored and celebrations have to be stopped while the remote gods consider the lead up. Sure, players have always celebrated a goal only to find that the linesmans flag is up but at least it was immediate.

Possibly an idea is to put a time limit on things. For example if VAR can't decide on an offside within 15 seconds of the incident or 10 seconds of a goal, then it was clearly too close to call and should stand.

 

[PaulB]

The first para' of your reply is utterly absurd. The two sets of incorrect decisions are not comparable as you well know.

You don't like VAR then so be it. If you are content to prioritise spontaneous celebration over making the correct decision in circumstances that may well affect the final outcome of the game then, imo, that is a rather strange choice.

I do find your attitude towards those who cannot get to matches to see their team rather arrogant.

Those 'couchies' that you refer to so disparagingly and who form LFC's global fan base pump far more money, directly or indirectly, into the club's coffers than those fans who attend matches on the day. Without them LFC and all the other EPL clubs would be dead in the water in their current format. .

I watched a large contingent of Nigerian fans celebrate our CL victory on Saturday and it was brilliant to watch and, to me at least, they are on an equal footing to the hard core of CFC fans who are STH's. CFC is as much their club as those who think their affiliation is hard wired into their DNA for whatever reason. Usually because they live within striking distance of the home ground or because their forebears supported the team.

There's no point going further as clearly, football is not your game and you have no understanding of how it works. It's like trying to explain quantum physics to a melon.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

There's no point going further as clearly, football is not your game and you have no understanding of how it works. It's like trying to explain quantum physics to a melon.

🍉 😂

 

[matticus]

I DO think that ref mistakes are comparable to player mistakes. Sport is about humans, and they do make mistakes. In addition there will always be subjective decisions; when a corner is taken, how on earth does a rulebook define which of the dozens of argy-bargy moments are legal??
(This is why the technology works a little better in tennis; there are far fewer subjective rules.)

I find it absurd when a team's fans blame a ref for "losing them the game"; well here's some news - your players made a hundred mistakes* that led to them being one ref decision away from losing. And that's just the ones visible to the spectator.

You also need to allow for the massive role of sheer bad luck in sport. refs get things wrong, but it's like blaming the wind, or your star-player catching flu 2 days before the final. Just deal with it!!!


*I say the same thing about penalty shootouts. Don't blame they guy that missed - blame the other 10 that failed to win the game in full time. Pens are a lottery, the least worst system that makes better telly than a toin-coss. But I digress ...

 

[jowwy]

There's no point going further as clearly, football is not your game and you have no understanding of how it works. It's like trying to explain quantum physics to a melon.

You’re an embarrasment………