MY whole life I’ve been told that the referee’s decision is final — at least it was until tonight.
For the first time in a competitive game in England, Video Assisted Referee (VAR) will be used in our FA Cup match against Crystal Palace, and an on-field decision can be reviewed — and possibly changed — as a result of a TV replay.
If you ask any player for their thoughts on VAR they will be varied.
In November, Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross and I were asked for our opinion on a very contentious penalty decision as well as what we thought about the introduction of VAR.
I felt I should have had a stonewall penalty and Ryan said the game was fine without VAR — though that was maybe because he knew he’d just got away with one.
There are so many pros and cons to the VAR argument and I can see it from both sides.
If games are paused it could break momentum and allow teams to regroup, which would limit the scope for fantastic games like Arsenal against Chelsea last week.
Also, the euphoria of scoring could be diminished by worrying whether a goal is going to be allowed or not. Will fans and players alike celebrate hesitantly, having to wait for confirmation?
IT’S CRYSTAL CLEAR, LADS Crystal Palace and Brighton players warned they will be booked for trying to influence VAR decisions
There is so much at stake in games.
Football is a multi- billion-pound betting market and when wrong decisions are made, punters’ hard-earned money is lost.
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On the other hand, football has always been susceptible to refereeing error and about opinions.
You can watch a replay 20 times on TV and still the pundits will have differing opinions, so what’s to say VAR will make it unanimous?
We have already introduced goalline technology.
VAR is just the next step of an ever-evolving game — but it’s still a human making the decision. Just not immediately.
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