VAR

Desert Orchid

Desert Orchid

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
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I thought it might be an idea to open a thread to discuss VAR decisions. It shouldn't really be necessary as VAR (and goal-line tech) should end debate. Yet the BBC match team in the stadium (I didn't see the studio team) disagreed with the penalty.

While I welcome the introduction of anything that leads to correct decisions being made, it seems human beings can't see the wood for the trees.

I should say straight up that I stopped watching MOTD years ago because of the poor level of commentary to accompany crap English games but I'd forgotten how awful Mark Lawrenson is.

His pro-Australia bias today was entirely out of order - I wanted the Aussies to do well too - but worst of all was his schoolboy interpretation of the laws.

I thought the ref got plenty wrong today but accepting the alert and checking the VAR for the penalty was absolutely the right thing to do. It was a clear penalty.

Lawro seem to think that playing the ball first negates any chance of a tackle being illegal.
 
Lawrenson is a negative prick, his victimisation of certain players regardless of performance is just childish and petty - see the French right back today.

He was wrong about the penalty and showed typical backwards mentality. The defender did not win the ball and took down Griezmann, whether he got a touch on the ball is completely irrelevant if he doesn't win it.
 
How do we feel about VAR now that we've had it for a few weeks?

On balance, I think it has been a good thing - catching stuff that would otherwise have been missed (The South Korea goal against Germany for a start). There have also been a few decisions that remain questionable, but that would have been the case without it too.

Overall, a step forward for me.
 
Absolutely a good thing. Lots of wrong decisions reversed and that can only be a good thing. Still some grey areas and individual opinion prevailing regarding what is the correct decision but fewer injustices than before.
 
The only concern I've got with it is that referees seem to be under an inferred obligtion to reverse a decision, which is understandable when you've got a team of half a dozen other referees in a booth studying something and they then invite you to take a second look at. The on-field official should have stood his ground on his failure to award the Iran penalty against Portugal, and of course Iran missed a gilt edged chance a minute later that would have knocked Portugal out
 
Warbler said:
The only concern I've got with it is that referees seem to be under an inferred obligtion to reverse a decision, which is understandable when you've got a team of half a dozen other referees in a booth studying something and they then invite you to take a second look at. The on-field official should have stood his ground on his failure to award the Iran penalty against Portugal, and of course Iran missed a gilt edged chance a minute later that would have knocked Portugal out
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Agree with that. It was good to see the Turkish official stand his ground in a similar situation a couple of days later. Mind you, he is the best referee in Europe.
 
It's a terrible thing as far as I'm concerned. Bit like we've got here where all the refs are pandering to their paymasters, they will manoeuvre it towards whatever agenda suits them.
 
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