The use & implementation of VAR

It is if you used to play for a club that used to be a great club

 

Good to see the penalty overturned and the Chelsea player booked.

A plus for VAR.

 

It seems they've definitely changed their policy for using VAR behind the scenes as of this gameweek - VAR just awarded a penalty to Man Utd vs Norwich when the ref didn't call it. It was probably a foul, but also a bit soft.

There wouldn't have been too many complaints had it not been given, so it seems their overly high "clear and obvious error" bar has been ditched and they're now just looking to see if it was likely a foul or not then giving it.

Shame it's come too late for our games.

 

...before it's overturned for a Palace penalty from which they score.

 

Interesting that the cowards didn’t come out and declare this clear change of policy. Did they think nobody would notice?

 

It’s not them that have changed, it’s us.

 

Nope. First was not given because of a moronic implementation of a "high bar" on reviews. The second was given because the media ridiculed them and theyve now decided to give penalties on merit.

 

They originally said no penalty after about 1000 views of the the incident. Then they apparently had access to another angle so re-reviewed it again. Surely if it’s that unclear then it’s not a pen? FWIW with that particular incident I don’t think it was, there was contact, but son delayed his dive and then flung himself to the floor.

 

Our penalty against Chelsea was a great example of a player feeling he had to 'go down' (some would say dive) to underline to the referee that he had been fouled (or perhaps 'touched'). Deulofeu knew he had been caught by the defender, as he did at Spurs, fell over and the got up to tell the ref as much. Son did much the same with his penalty appeal at Everton yesterday.

Referees have made a rod for their own backs over the years by not giving penalties for fouls, pushes, shirt pulling and holding when the player does not fall over. Last season in our game at Arsenal Lacazette was fouled in the area but stayed on his feet, stumbling, and got a shot off which hit the side netting. Result: a Watford goal kick when it should have been a penalty. Presumably the ref hid behind the fact that he had played the advantage rule. As a result players know that they have to fall over to have any chance of a penalty, hence the horrible phrase prevalent amongst ex-player pundits: "He was touched so he was entitled to go down." (For the record, I agree with HB1 that the challenge on Deulofeu was not a penalty.)

So what part does VAR have to play in all this? The on-field ref probably has to worry less about it because he now has the safety net of VAR and can let someone else take responsibility. Great; you might think with all these replays these fouls that have previously gone unpunished will be seen and penalties duly awarded, but will they? What constitutes a VAR penalty review? Even with the new standard of the last couple of weeks allowing refs decisions to be overturned, I strongly suspect a player still has to fall over for the incident to be reviewed at all. Nothing has changed - in fact diving might even increase with players hoping multiple views by VAR will show a 'touch'.

 

Helter-skelter game at Stamford Bridge tonight. VAR well in the mix. Interesting observation though - Chelsea on the charge back from 1-4 down to 4-4. Crowd absolutely buzzing and urging the team on in every subsequent attack as you'd expect. They thought they'd got a fifth and the roof lifted off. Bonkers. But after a relatively short VAR review it was ruled out for handball (UEFA officials clearly have no issue deciding handballs). Now the crowd is dead. Proper strange muted atmosphere in the wake of that. The VAR was booed too.

Oh and the game also had a proper bizarre incident. Ajax defender made a tackle outside the box, ref played advantage, Chelsea had a shot which another Ajax defender blocked with his arm. Ref went back, gave the first defender a second yellow for the tackle. Then gave a penalty for the handball and gave the other defender his second yellow. Two players sent off in the same 'phase of play' for different things!

 

Also happened early this season when Oldham had 2 players sent off atMansfield in the same passage of play

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49942852

 

Touched. He was touched. Now, the standard has been set that if any defender touches you in the box you can put yourself on the floor and it is a penalty. So it really is in effect no contact in the box now.

I'm really struggling with football this year and I don't think it is just because Watford are ****. It feels like the game is generally in a terrible state at the moment.

 

Well that was my point really. Football has been moving more and more towards 'no contact' in recent years and I think VAR is now only accelerating the process.

 

I get the impression the fall to the floor wasn't particularly relevant to the decision. The PL said the penalty was given for, "...a clear trip that impeded Deulofeu's progress in the penalty area and because no penalty was awarded on the field, the referee overturned his decision." So 'progress' has to be impeded as well there being contact.

 

But would it even have been reviewed by VAR if Deulofeu hadn't fallen over?

 

No, probably not. But then that's hardly any different the age old pre-VAR conundrum of players having to launch themselves to the floor to get any sort of decision in the box.

 

My argument to that would be that his progress wasn't impeded because we saw him take a couple more steps before deciding to hit the deck. If that clip had come from the keeper and he was clean through with an open goal he would have carried on. It wasn't enough to bring him down, he chose to go down...which is a dive.

 

Sheffield Utd just had a goal disallowed for an offside that if it was offside, it was a millimetre at best. Decision took 3 minutes. Absolutely ludicrous.

"If he'd been a size 9 instead of a 10 he'd have been onside".

 

Agreed. Took 3 mins 47 secs! Time to go for a Bovril then. So absolutely 'halting the flow of the game'. It started with Sterling being found offside by a 'pigeon dropping on the end of his boot' on Matchday 1 at Wet Spam. Trouble is, how do you decide on 'offside enough'? The VAR officials will be worried about not analysing it in minutae given that it could be pored over for another week afterwards and them accused of being unable to spot a 'rogue toenail' in 3 mins 47 secs.

Two solutions seem reasonable to me:

1. A time limit. As proposed by 'jug ears' last night. Not the first to propose that. 30 secs and 60 secs were suggested. 30 secs is too short, 60 secs is about right. So, if after a minute, it's still 'too close to call' then the ref's initial decision stands. Or,

2. One of my own. If any part of an attacker's potential 'goal-scoring anatomy' is behind any part of a defender's potential 'ball playing anatomy' then it's onside. This would still require lines to be drawn and it would require a 'rule change' too. But it would hand a sensible advantage to the attacking team and lead to more goals. All good i.m.h.o.

Consider this. You're scooting down the wing, spot a particularly attractive female in the adjacent crowd and then get found offside for having an 'erect bell-end'. As I understand it, you're allowed to score with the end of your kn.b in more ways than one.

Silly really.

 

Is doorknob censored too? Apparently not.

 

Both Liverpool goals so far today should have been chalked off, and Man City could well been leading 1-0 had they converted the penalty they should have been awarded.

Having said that it was not the fault of VAR that this has occurred, yet again it is the way the idiots who are administering it's use are using the technology that is at fault.

The VAR Referees should be told they should stick strictly to the LETTER of the LAW and NOT use their obviously faulty interpretation of the laws of the game. Maybe we should have SPECIALIST VAR Refs and stop using regular referees that seem to be bias to their mates who are out on the pitch.