Alyson Rudd of the Times assures me that VAR rightly confirmed that it wasn't a pen

[AFC East]

I just remember how long it took them to get DRS right. Remember the days when the 3rd umpire would give the on field umpire the details and left it to the umpire to make the final call? It was carnage for a while. It's been refined and improved and refined again to what we have now

Although, in DRS, the on field umpire still has final say, the parameters are fairly well defined. There is a certain degree of out or not out and this took a few years. Imagine how Football, a constantly moving game with much wider room for interpretation, will work to refine and improve the VAR system.

Perhaps, the VAR should only be used to define black and white decisions. Was the ball over the line (throw, GK/corner/goal etc), was a foul inside or outside the box and offside. Strictly define the parameters and then apply them accordingly.

It might take 10 years to get to that point....

Nevertheless Burney is spot on. They have learned nothing from other sports.

Strangely I found myself agreeing with everything in this thread, very well said WES.

Oh aside from the bus trip. £6 in the context of £150...

[Burney]

Nevertheless Burney is spot on. They have learned nothing from other sports.

Strangely I found myself agreeing with everything in this thread, very well said WES.

Oh aside from the bus trip. £6 in the context of £150...

If I actually thought FIFA were clever enough, I'd almost suspect they've deliberately sabotaged the implementation of VAR so that it can be withdrawn and shelved in perpetuity.

[Luis Anaconda]

If I actually thought FIFA were clever enough, I'd almost suspect they've deliberately sabotaged the implementation of VAR so that it can be withdrawn and shelved in perpetuity.

Arsene has been bought in to save it. The review system will be in shortly - he's always banged on about that. Mind you imagine if we had reviewed Dean's decision on Saturday and they still didn't give us a pen

[Burney]

Arsene has been bought in to save it. The review system will be in shortly - he's always banged on about that. Mind you imagine if we had reviewed Dean's decision on Saturday and they still didn't give us a pen

The problem with football, of course, is that there is that element of discretion left to referees regarding intent and so forth, so a review system will always mean that there will be a clash between different interpretations. The question is whether on or off-field officials will have the final say.

[Luis Anaconda]

The problem with football, of course, is that there is that element of discretion left to referees regarding intent and so forth, so a review system will always mean that there will be a clash between different interpretations. The question is whether on or off-field officials will have the final say.

Yep - one of the interesting things about Sunday's decision for Liverpool's non-goal was that the ref Pawson (booooooooooo) was on VAR for the United Everton game and didn't give a foul for a similar challenge on De Gea. So his definition was consistent, yet he gets overturned in this instant. Even though I think it was a foul, it hardly makes any sense

[Burney]

Yep - one of the interesting things about Sunday's decision for Liverpool's non-goal was that the ref Pawson (booooooooooo) was on VAR for the United Everton game and didn't give a foul for a similar challenge on De Gea. So his definition was consistent, yet he gets overturned in this instant. Even though I think it was a foul, it hardly makes any sense

What would be interesting with a review system is where there has been a bad tackle and the ref has only given a yellow. Will the opposing skipper have the right to appeal in the hope of a red - basically subjecting the ref's discretion to the scrutiny of his peers?

[redgunamo]

Embarrassing, humiliating the ref is an important part of the game. And I suspect they are perfectly aware of this too; welcome it even.

What would be interesting with a review system is where there has been a bad tackle and the ref has only given a yellow. Will the opposing skipper have the right to appeal in the hope of a red - basically subjecting the ref's discretion to the scrutiny of his peers?

[redgunamo]

And nobody wants the officials to be correct 100% of the time, in any case. Otherwise how to explain away a 2-0 defeat at Swindon Town, or somewhere like that, without at least in part blaming the linesman or the ref. For the good of the game, these functionaries must continue to exist as sort of Aunt Sally, pantomime characters.

The problem with football, of course, is that there is that element of discretion left to referees regarding intent and so forth, so a review system will always mean that there will be a clash between different interpretations. The question is whether on or off-field officials will have the final say.

[WES]

And nobody wants the officials to be correct 100% of the time, in any case. Otherwise how to explain away a 2-0 defeat at Swindon Town, or somewhere like that, without at least in part blaming the linesman or the ref. For the good of the game, these functionaries must continue to exist as sort of Aunt Sally, pantomime characters.

Yes, that will never change.

VAR is the new referee, as such. Which sort of suggests it's pointless, really.

[Burney]

And nobody wants the officials to be correct 100% of the time, in any case. Otherwise how to explain away a 2-0 defeat at Swindon Town, or somewhere like that, without at least in part blaming the linesman or the ref. For the good of the game, these functionaries must continue to exist as sort of Aunt Sally, pantomime characters.

No, but I do think they want their decisions to be subject to scrutiny and for them to no longer be the sole arbiters in the game. That would fundamentally change on-field refereeing. For instance, there's no way Mike Reilly could have reffed our game against United the way he did if his frankly bizarre decisions could be sent upstairs.