I once welcomed the arrival of VAR with open arms. Frustrated by glaring errors that plagued the game, the promise of a more accurate, fairer system felt like a necessary evolution. I even had a sneak peek, spending an afternoon testing the technology before its official debut, impressed by the earnest effort to get it right.
That optimism has vanished. The turning point wasn’t a single incident, but a slow, creeping realization that VAR wasn’t improving the game – it was actively damaging it. A recent example, a blatant push going unpunished, felt like the final straw, igniting a frustration that simmered for years.
The true cost of VAR isn’t just the missed calls, but the experience it steals from those in the stands. I recall a recent match where the stadium held its breath, waiting for a decision that felt miles away, disconnected from the flow of the game, until a marginal offside call extinguished the moment.
We accept that referees are human, prone to error. VAR wasn’t intended to eliminate mistakes, but to correct clear and obvious ones. Instead, it has often compounded them, adding layers of delay and uncertainty to the beautiful game.
There’s always talk of changing football, of tinkering with its fundamental structure. Proposals for shorter halves, while intriguing, miss the point. Football’s global appeal isn’t built on perfection, but on passion and unpredictable drama.
The heart of football lies in the raw emotion of a goal – the anticipation, the explosion of joy, the sheer disbelief. That visceral experience is what must be protected, and VAR, with its endless reviews and agonizing delays, actively erodes it.
Ideas like a captain’s review, borrowing from other sports, offer a glimmer of potential, a way to inject some theatre and player agency. But even these solutions disrupt the natural rhythm of the game.
There are aspects of video assistance that could be salvaged. Automated goal-line technology, when functioning correctly, is a valuable asset. Semi-automated offside, if significantly sped up, could also be acceptable, with a clearly defined margin for error.
Football isn’t broken. It has real problems – corruption, inequality, and abuse – that demand attention. But the game itself, in its purest form, is perfect. It doesn’t need more complex rules or convoluted methods of officiating.
Let’s focus on fixing what truly needs fixing, and start by removing VAR. Let the game breathe, let the players play, and let the sport speak for itself, unburdened by the interference of technology.
