VAR scores positive reviews with fans after dramatic improvement at Euro 2020
From internationals to the Premier League- Has officiating improved this summer compared to the domestic season to re-engage fans?
That sinking feeling. Everyone looks around as the referee pauses. We all wait for video analysis of the offside decision. The whistle blows. Offside. Surely not, just a hand? We have all been there in the past few years.
But the delayed European Championships have just ended with England losing at Wembley in a raucous atmosphere at Wembley and something was strange. VAR had not been the topic of discussion for fans during the final, but more the antics off the pitch.
On average, there was a VAR intervention every 3.25 games, a sharp contrast to the Premier League which was deployed every 2.75 games even over a longer season.
Throughout the Premier League season VAR has been subject to intense scrutiny, with pundits and fans alike criticising the time that is taken to review decisions, in addition to the quality of the calls.
This has been a prominent theme which according to Premier League statistics has seen over 115 overturns of refereeing decisions in the 20/21 domestic campaign, and 30 awarded offside decisions that ruled out goals, including four decisions that took over three minutes.
I spoke to Crystal Palace season ticket holder and England fan James Hunter who has experienced both the Premier League and Euros inside the stadium. He revealed how he believes that our national officiating standards must improve to meet European level.
“Generally, I think it was better in the Euros. I think the speed at which the match officials went through all the decisions at made the game just more free flowing.
“Whilst where you look at the Premier League, most of the time it took them a long period to establish any clear decision.”
“For example, Leeds scored, Patrick Bamford, his hand was pointing outwards, and VAR spent minutes looking at it and even myself in the home end at the time was like ‘it can’t be offside, it can’t be offside, and then they spent minutes looking at it, it killed the flow of the game.”
Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor were the only British officials at Euro 2020, and they are set to be chosen by the FA to brief other officials during their return to domestic action later this year. This clearly shows the level of trust that is placed in the top officials, but the quality of VAR understanding is depleted further down the scale.
Players were left complaining and anguished by decisions during the Premier League campaign, with even the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish speaking out publicly against the system. But at the European Championships, UEFA declared not one player spoke out against the system, which was implemented much smoother.
Hunter agreed stating that as a fan it would often leave the experience ‘deflated’ during the Premier League campaign, but was much clearer to understand the decisions during the games at Wembley this summer, with the verdict clearly communicated via ‘screen messages’.
According to research from William Hill, this summer’s tournament produce a controversy rating of 4.40, making it 14.39% lower than the rating for the Premier League domestic season.
This has displayed a clear gap in understanding of the implications that VAR will have on the game, but if deployed better could really clean up controversial decisions down the line. Hunter agreed stating he would like to see VAR continue to be used as effectively as possible in the future.
“I think if you implement it like they did in the Euros and like I say from the small parts I’ve seen of the Bundesliga, it will work, it will work well but it needs to be amended,” he said.
“But I do think it has a place in football, it just needs to be clearer what the rules are, especially with all these minor decisions they overanalyse.”
Several experts within the game have also expressed their concern about the integrity of the game with VAR, but seem more impressed with the ability of on-field referees to employ the decisions during the championships.
Sam Tabuteau, a freelance football journalist with work currently in the Daily Mirror and Metro believes that VAR is often a ‘confusion’ for journalists too within the stadium environment and appears to suit television watching fans.
He said: “When attending games, I felt VAR was confusing as there were no replays or clear communication with the crowd as to what the referee was checking.
“The implementation of VAR was far better in the Euros as there was a far greater emphasis on letting the game flow and ensuring that the referees made decisive calls. It was telling that the only noticeable mistakes came from English officials.”
Although this is harder in the Premier League, with rules such as the handball law often left down to interpretation in recent seasons.
Tabuteau also has revealed how he believes the system could be adjusted into a similar style as the European Championships, to deliver a positive message about the technology globally.
He detailed the ‘flaws’ in the old system as a complete negative overall but believes that helping referees with ‘improving their decisiveness’ and ‘more coherent’ in understanding the rules.
I also spoke to Sports Illustrated journalist Reuben Rosso , who underlined the importance of VAR in aiding the referee, who are often unfairly criticised for natural error.
He also delivered a final verdict on technology in sport.
“With the competitiveness of football ever growing a system like VAR is necessary to improve the quality of the game,” he added.
“However, with the pressure on VAR to take decisive action in matches it is paramount that over analysing and inconsistency is eradicated to allow matches to flourish naturally.”
