Decisions are also ‘wrong’ in VAR time, and people don’t want that either. Basically the tech isn’t up to it yet. Maybe one day games will be refereed by algorithm but we’re a way off that. And does anyone actually want that anyway? Everyone would be arguing about the algorithm instead. People need to accept that refs are a human part of the game and just get on with it as in the previous 150 years or whatever. All stakeholders in the Premier League from the fans to the owners should just say no to VAR and bin it off as far as I’m concerned.
Engineer a bunch of new ways to give yellow cards and then have to introduce a whole new system to punish people for all those reasons. So stupid. Why does it feel like each season the rules are shifting so dramatically, never felt that way like 10 years ago?
Partly due to the introduction of tech I think, it’s the cart leading the horse. Also because the people riding the gravy train in organisations such as IFAB feel they have to keep coming up with new ideas to justify their existence.
Agreed on tech being a big driver. I recall there being a long debate about goal line technology following the 2010 World Cup Lampard goal and it still took a few years for it to come in. Since then though it just feels like the floodgates have opened regarding changes to the rules.
This is very true. It seems suddenly the game is being run by these obscure organisations who have a different agenda. It used to be a simple game, obviously because humans were involved there were mistakes made all the time, from strikers missing open goals and penalties, players losing their rags and getting sent off, players mistiming tackles and committing fouls, either by accident or cynically. But now we have these shadowy figures in smoke filled rooms changing the laws at the beginning of each season, and often during the season too, and telling the gullible that errors can be eradicated from the game if we give them carte blanche. It's bollocks. SCRAP VAR
Yes, the changes in recent years have been pretty huge and they keep looking to change things each season since the introduction of VAR. In one season we seemingly had 10 different handball rules, which seemed to come as a result of VAR. Alongside this, kick offs have changed, penalties in terms of the taker's runs and the goalkeeper needing to keep their feet on the line, five subs, the amount of added time this season and referees seem to flip flop each season between allowing a more physical game before everyone starts moaning and then going back to non-contact. There are probably more rules, some have been good introductions, some have been bad, but these have all had a big impact in changing the game over the last few years and they're still looking to change the game further. I can't remember the game changing so drastically prior to VAR coming in. Indeed, football had its flaws, but it didn't need to be changed as much as we are seeing.
You can go back in this thread and you'll probably see people suggested it'd lead this way. It makes complete sense that when you open the door to technology that it ends up being all or nothing. If you're going to award a handball that bounces on to someone's hand from a millimeter away at a set piece, you should probably check that it was a correctly awarded set piece in the first place. Why stop at corners and free kicks? What about throw ins and the extra yard gained here and there, the coin toss etc etc etc. This was inevitable and no doubt helped by clubs, managers and players that have seemingly stepped up their complaints this season. My only surprise with VAR is that they haven't tried implementing it beyond the top level. Given the financial rewards / implications involved in the second tier, it seems like a matter of time before they ruin Championship football too.
There’s a lot on offer at the top of the Championship, but the smaller clubs just don’t make very much in that league. VAR is quite expensive to install and run so doesn’t make any economical sense for the smaller teams. Doubt we’ll see it expand anytime soon.
I've got a mate who works for hawkeye and he's expecting it to expand down to the Championship within the next 24 months but it will more than likely be the same as it is in the SPL with less cameras. I think they use 6 VAR cameras compared to the 30+ in the PL. I hope it doesn't happen. It's been ****ing wonderful this season knowing a goal is a goal after just one look at the lino.
Oh, the good old days - where I could celebrate a goal knowing it was a goal. It feels like every single goal I've witnessed in the Prem (other than Pens), I've half celebrated knowing it could just be in vain.
Absolutely sick of these idiots in suits desperately trying to come up with 10 new rules every season. We used to go years without law changes and everyone loved it. There are exceptions that have improved the game - the backpass rule and goal-line technology being two - but until recently it's always remained simple and easy to understand. Now nobody has a clue from one week to the next, including the officials themselves. The best thing English football could do is to completely remove themselves from these idiots and go back to to the basics that helped to make this beautiful game our national sport. Football thrived for the best part of a century with hardly any major rule changes and we're allowing it to be ruined by people who've probably never played a competitive game in their lives. I'm probably giving up my season ticket of 29 years at the end of this season due to moving further away, but to be honest the way football's going I can't wait to get out and watch some local non-league with my boy. It was bad enough being part of the Premier League 'experience' before VAR and all these ridiculous rule changes, now it's becoming completely unbearable. I don't want my boy to grow up thinking that's what football is, 'cos it's nothing like what I fell in love with at his age.
They also do the technology for VAR. Hawkeye employees are the replay operators for the video assistant referee.
It doesn't make economical sense for all of the teams in the division but we're seeing the same arguments in the WSL when there are clubs operating at vastly different budgets (all WSL clubs are loss-making and being propped up by income from the male counterparts). If it suits a majority it might get introduced to the Championship. It's usually small margins as to who is promoted / earns a playoff place / gets relegated. Norwich finished in the bottom half last season but still only 7 points outside of the playoff places so not a million miles off the Premier League riches. It'd absolutely be to the detriment of the Championship but it wouldn't surprise me if it does get implemented down there sooner rather than later. I couldn't have bowed out at a better time really. I think I'd struggle going back to a VAR-infested game. I only really had the half-season of VAR before Covid struck and I didn't bother renewing beyond that point.
Good point there. The joy of going absolute mental when you would get a late winner have gone for good as now you wait for a few minutes for some fella in a tiny room 100 miles away to decide if the player was 0.0000045cm offside. Today's youngsters will never know that feeling of going off on one there and then as now you do have to think oh hang on VAR has got its beady eye on this checking it over.
nobody leaves fifa. Fifa are not like the cuddly EU. it'd be more akin to tibet trying to leave china. Lets get VARon a millwall game, let them have a full scale riot at the first issue and see the refs running for it. that'll wake them up. As we all know the prawn munchers and OOT fans from Thailand or Norway don't realise its a problem from behind their selfie sticks
Nah, f*ck em. People would still pay to watch football in this country on telly and in person whether we were affiliated to FIFA or not. They could do nothing about it. And I’d bet there are quite a few nations who would be happy to be free of those parasites. So you’d have to set up an alternative organisation. So what, bring it on.
and we'd be banned for all international competitions, the league banned from Europe and then obviously all the non UK players would flee. I'm very sure you are right that in fact most nations would love to break fifa corruption and control. nobody will be the first though.
Damn good post that Kirbs. I think you've managed to voice how disenchanted and dispirited many long standing season ticket holders are with the game at the min.
