Opinion Piece (Uni Work)

There is no denying, VAR has certainly been a main talking point in this years and last years football season. And all the discussions about VAR, have been both good and bad.

As a Tottenham fan, I would say I’ve experienced the best and the worst of VAR.

There is no point in lying, and saying Sterling’s last minute winner against Tottenham being disallowed, wasn’t one of the best feelings I’ve had as a Spurs fan. Because it most certainly was.

To go from the feeling that you had just lost such a huge game right at the end. To then for it to be overturned and your team has now not lost the game, is a feeling like no other. Especially when the stakes are so high, so in this case it was for a place in the Champions League semi final.

Yes, the time waiting for a decision to be made can be frustrating. But I feel like that the waiting adds to the anticipation and excitement. Fans are on the edge of their seats as they eagerly wait in anticipation in what the decision will be.

But not all my experiences of VAR as a Spurs were quite as joyful for me as that.

The best example for me that comes to mind is from Leicester against Tottenham towards the start of the season.

When the incident happened, Spurs were 1-0 up and Serge Aurier had just scored the second, which looked like it was the match winning goal. Or so I thought...

After extensive review, the goal was disallowed by Heung-Min Son’s shoulder being offside in the buildup of the goal.

For the goal to be ruled out by such fine margins was devastating and especially when it was a 50/50 decision.

Also the Tottenham goal disallowed, gave Leicester momentum to go on and turn the game around and actually win the game 2-1.

However, interestingly earlier on in the match Leicester had a goal ruled out by VAR also.

So I feel many complaints made by fans about VAR, are purely because a decision hasn’t gone their way.

I also believe a lot of fans are confused about the new changes to the rules, and are purely blaming VAR for doing its job.

One of the most notable changes was regarding the handball rule.

The premier league made the rule very clear “ Any goal scored or created with the use of the hand or arm will be disallowed this season, even if it is accidental. “

And this rule change was due to their being a number of high-profile goals scored by the “accidental use of the hand” last season. With one example being, Sergio Aguero used his hand in scoring his third for Manchester City against Arsenal in February 2019.

So really whether or not you approve of VAR. When it comes down to goals that have involved the use of the hand, VAR is only doing its job by enforcing the rule.

Overall, I do feel VAR has been harshly criticised. I do agree it has made mistakes but VAR has certainly helped referees this season, which was so largely requested by many professionals. With one of the best examples was an angry Charlie Austin after a match saying the referees needed help.

And VAR has shown it can be extremely beneficial to the sport when used to correctly. The technology is good but I do think a lot of faults is due to the people using it and that is purely because it is new.

So I do believe VAR is the way forward and it will take time. But it is a good thing for the sport.