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Week 10 [16.12 - 22.12.2019] How VAR is changing football?


If any of you is interested in football, you probably heard about the latest technology that was recently introduced into football and is called Video Assistant Referee. If not, VAR is a technology that allows you to view the situation that has just taken place on the field on a special screen by a referee and choose what decision should be made. How does it work exactly? A special team of referees is appointed in each match to sit in front of  screens and analyze situations during a match. The referee asks VAR to analyze a situation and  VAR recommends a certain decision. Then the video material is verified by the referee and he makes the right decision or  the VAR team advises the referee through headphones what exactly he should do. Finally, the referee makes a decision, even if the action took place a few minutes before. VAR has been controversial from the very beginning because players have stopped enjoying their goals for fear of being for example offside when they scored a goal or that a  goal has not been scored correctly. However, the main advantage of VAR technology is that referees cannot influence the match and cannot whistle in favor of a  particular team. 


Why was the system of VAR introduced into the most popular football league, the Premier League?

This technology was introduced  due to mistakes that referees made in matches which were played very quickly. It was introduced because every fan could saw many replays of the situation on TVs, smartphones or large screens and it caused pressure on the referees. Many referees were threatened for not having seen  a specific situation and whistling to the disadvantage of one of the teams,  which brought a completely different result. Then the Premier League authorities said that if anyone can watch replays of controversial situations, why wouldn’t  the referee do that? Clubs from this league, at the end of the previous season, voted anonymously whether they are in favor of introducing VAR to English fields. After testing this technology in less important games in England, it was decided they should introduced   it. However introduction of this technology caused some controversy, because every referee sees situations differently.. Recently, there have been voices of specialists that the introduction of VAR technology was not a good idea, because it blocks the game and the joy of players after scoring goals, but does not eliminate the controversy.

The World Cup in Russia is the first competition using VAR 

At the World Cup in Russia, the VAR system was used for the first time in large scale. After the whole tournament, VAR was announced as a success because it helped in many controversial situations, but there was of course some complains about this system. As Lukas Brud, IFAB secretary at the International Football Association (IFAB), said "The problem is that people are always looking and picking out the controversial things. No one cares if someone had a happy day. This is why this will always be a problem of VAR's. People just ignore how well it can work. Normally it works well, but as soon as it doesn't, the discussions start again.".



Here you can see a video when VAR’s  decisions changed the game - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bcw01bqmYQ

Sources:
-    http://theconversation.com/goal-or-is-it-how-technology-and-not-just-var-is-changing-sport-121838


Questions.
1. What do you think about VAR technology?
2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?
3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?

Comments

Maciej P s16488 said…
You described whole process, which quite often is shortened to just sending information to main referee's earphone.
There are a lot of controversy regarding VAR but most of them in my opinion are stupid excuses, like one about fear of enjoying goal. There are rules for a reason. If footballer scores while breaking rules it hurts other team. VAR helps game being fair.
VAR doesn't work well, when referees make mistake and they do them even without VAR. VAR simply helps them making less mistakes.

Speaking about VAR's history it would be worthy to point out that in Europe it was firstly officially used on full scale in polish ekstraklasa (28.05.2017) and polish referees were later teaching other referees how to use it properly.
You are very wrong about The World Cup in Russia being first competition using VAR because first competition that used VAR was final of Taça de Portugal. There are other major events that used VAR before The World Cup: Fifa Club World Cup (2016), FIFA U-20 World Cup (2017) or FIFA Confederations Cup (2017) while competition you speak about happened in 2018.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
You should be more carefull while reading part about VAR in World Cup in Russia. I wrote that VAR in World Cup in Russia was the first time in such large scale. It means that earlier there was no such a big tournament where VAR was used. Examples that you provided shows competitions which are played in the same time as leagues or different Cups like Champions League (Confederations Cup is different but it is much smaller tournament than World Cup). I agree that polish ekstraklasa introduced VAR earlier on full scale but our league is on such low level that you cannot say it was introduction on large scale. For sure you cannot compare it to FIFA World Cup. Also I agree with you that VAR helps game being fair but in the greatest leagues in the world like Premier League or Spanish La Liga there are some serious mistakes by the referees and even by the VAR. Of course VAR is about sending information to main referee's earphone, just as I mentioned in the sentence "... or the VAR team advises the referee through headphones what exactly he should do.". In my opnion football is better with VAR.
Maciej P s16488 said…
I think i've read it carefully enough because i still strongly disagree with you. Obviously World Cup is biggest tournament out of them but you can't deminish competitions previously listed by me, because they still are pretty big and VAR was used there on big scale as well. It is simply misleading, especially when your header says "The World Cup in Russia is the first competition using VAR ", even though you specify later that you meant competition on big scale. It wasn't first competition and it wasn't first on big scale. It was first time that biggest football competition used VAR.

You are right about that part with earphone but what i tried to say was that not always full process is necessery while sometimes it just ends at that point.
s15385 said…
Well, VAR has still pros and cons. In many situation where in the first decision made by referee was bad, VAR came with help and decision has been withdrawn. But there are many mistakes made by referees even after discusing with VAR team and watching replay. I remember Liverpool's match a few weeks ago. Mane scored a goal but after VAR check referee showed offside. They were showing situation from different points of view but in my opinion it was a goal. I also read some comments after the match and many people said that they could argue about that. Sum up the introduction of VAR was a good move but it requires some improvments.
You did not include any questions so i'm just going to say that for me VAR is a great thing, it was sickening in the past when players faked injuries and got away with that without any consequences when other team members were punished for nothing, it wasn't football but now when everyone knows that there is a system that will for sure see player's misbehaviour on the pitch the game starts to look like it should look for the past decade. It's fast paced, precise and fun, players are now training how to play and win by the rules and modern games are enjoyable to watch.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
Yes usually it is just situation where VAR referees just send information to main referee's earphone and that is all. We can argue what a big competition is or what "large scale" means but most importatn is that in the end we agree that with VAR football is just more fair and better.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
Thank you for noticing thaht I did not include any questions. I forgot and just updated tha article with questions. I agree with you that VAR is a great thing and many bad behaviours are eliminated by VAR.
PIOTR PAWLAK said…
Yes I agree with you, I watched this match and I alos think it was a goal, but unfotunetlly behind VAR there are referees who can make the same mistakes as the referees on the pitch. In the end I tnik VAR has more advantages than disadvantages and when it will improve the game will be almost without errors.
1. In my opinion VAR technology is a great addition in the world of football, although this system has its minuses, they are overshadowed by the pluses that this system provides. It allows for fair play and reduces the possibility of simulating and extorting penalties.

2. Yes, I would. There were many situations in football history where some teams won only thanks to referee mistakes. With the introduction of VAR we can be much more sure that team won thanks to fair play.

3. I see no problems as to the use of modern technologies in sports, if they make sport better, hamper cheating and generally have a better impact on developing sport, this type of technology should be introduced.
Kuba Berliński said…

1. I think it is a good step into the future of football. There should not be a factor of "randomness" in certain referee decisions. The way of being able to check if the verdict is fine is highly important.

2. I think I wouldn't mind. It also depends on whether it was you or someone from your team who messed up or not in some cases.

3. I thing many sport disciplines require usage of technology. Could you imagine ski jumping for example, without wind detectors? Many of jumpers would certainly get injured or even worse. Also volleyball, on current level of players, it is sometimes impossible to spot where the ball landed with human eyes.
Kacper Gąsior said…
1. I'm in favor of VAR technology. It makes football a more fair discipline. Such solutions are in use in other disciplines like basketball for years, so I think it's high time for football associations to introduce it too. In sport fair verdict is very important as score is a prize for better players. The discipline shouldn't be ruined by bad, random decisions.

2. I wouldn't mind. It will ensure me that all decisions are fair. Sometimes I will benefit from that, sometimes no, but all in all I will be sure that I deserve what I get.

3. I'm a big fan of using advanced technology in sport. Both when it comes to reefering and improving the spectator's experience. Using many cameras, drones and advances analytics to improve both discipline understanding and make it more interesting for a spectator is a good idea. The only technological improvement in sport I don't like is doping - I'm definitely against it.

I am a football fan and very interested in VAR. I think it's great that football referees can finally use video analysis. In tennis, volleyball, athletics and in many other sports is a normal thing. Everyone always wants a fair decision from a judge - VAR is a very helpful device. However, I have recently noticed that football referees and others are not necessarily making good use of this assistant. Firstly, VAR is used differently in each league - completely different situations are analyzed - in my opinion, this should be harmonized. In addition, the video referee should have the casting vote on events on the field. We should also promote the offensive game, and therefore change the rules on offside. People want to watch the goals, not 5cm burned. And most importantly, in disputable situations you should always use VAR - I don't know if you were following the Liverpool - Man City match? Despite the presence of VAR, the system was not used.
1. I think VAR technology helps a lot. It lets you see what the football referee can't see or he can be wrong. This technology sometimes is called a gamechanger.

2. If I were in footballers' shoes, I would like this system very much. I like fair play and I think honesty is very important in sport.

3. As I mentioned above, honesty is very important here. So I'm in favor of technology in sport being and developing, tracking the results of the match and the behavior of players and referees.
Bartosz Waś said…
1. I think it allows to eliminate any possibility of unfair actions during matches. In my opinion it is a good technology that should be a standard because it allows a fair play without any controversies.

2. From a footballer perspective there are two points of view. One is for example when your goal is canceled because of VAR. In such situation I would probably be angry but after a time I would realize that the decision was actually right. The other perspective is when VAR would eliminate the situation of my team being played against the rules. When in that one I would probably love the VAR system. So Summarizing as a footballer I would rather have good opinion about the system.

3. I think advanced technology should be used anywhere in sports where it could improve the experience of watching and playing or honesty of the final results.
Pawel Bluszcz said…
1. I believe that systems like VAR are needed in sports. For example, in tennis hawk-eye is often used to play a replay. Sometimes it is difficult to assess if a tiny ball flying 120 km/h hits the field. The same in football - a referee may not always judge everything perfectly, so rewatch a situation is absolutely necessary.
2. I think I would be dissatisfied. The beauty of sport is also to make something "enchant". ;)
3. The plus is definitely that the decisions taken by the referees are getting more and more accurate. Nowadays, there is less and less talk about arranging and selling matches. There is less corruption. However, at the moment I don't see any disadvantages.
Szymon Kluczek said…
1. I believe that the VAR system was very much needed in modern football, this system eliminates many understatements and fraud attempts. Matches become fairer which highlights the beauty of this sport.

2. I think that the system still requires a lot of regulation to eliminate all its flaws, but if I were a footballer I would strongly support this system because I believe that sport should be based on fair victories, and all disputed situations should be clarified as soon as possible so that a better team always won.

3. I am a big fan of introducing technology to sport, I often watch volleyball matches and I can't imagine this sport without a repetition system, there are often contact situations when the ball minimally touches the line of the pitch, which is often beyond capture by even the best referee. What's more, many sports where time or distance counts perfectly shows why technology in sport is so important, in these sports there are often minimal differences that without modern technology would be impossible to catch.
1.I believe that a VAR is very helpful and can solve many unclear situations. During the match people are accompanied by a lot of emotions and thanks to the VAR a referee can judge what really happened.

2.Everything would depend on my style of play. For some people a VAR can be very helpful and can solve unjustified refereeing decisions. For players who play more aggressively, like Sergio Ramos, it can only be a nuisance.

3.It's a good thing that they finally showed up on the pitch. The referee will not always notice everything and judge fairly. Although I think they should be further elaborated.

1. What do you think about VAR technology?
I think its greate use of technology. Human eye wont see everything and in football there is so much money involved and its good that it become fair and as is.

2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?
Of course i would be. Its greate. So many beautifull goals weren't counted as points because of human mistake that its a shame that we had to wait that long.

3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?
Advanced technology is in every aspect of our lives so it naturally should be used in sport too.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. What do you think about VAR technology?
I find it necessary to keep any technical support like VAR in every possible sports discipline these days. It can surely reduce the number of wrong referee decisions when used correctly.

2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?
I would definitely be in favour of the system as I would like to eliminate possibility of wrong calls and decisions made by referees, that can really demotivate players and change completely the game scenario. The technology would keep the rivarly as fair as possible.

3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?
I am undoubtedly a pro-technology-in-sports person. As I mentioned in the first answer - advanced technology should be always used as a support in decision making processes of any sport that often serves us some negative emotions concerning wrong and controversial calls from referees.
Roman Batyuk said…
1. To my mind technologies are important for any sport nowadays. Not only during games but also for good and fast rehabilitation of sportsmen. VAR is a good example of such technology that makes sport modern, fair and even fun. It gave us some extra minutes after a goal or foul to worry about your team.

2. I would take it in the account to not make mistakes on the pitch because everything is captured on video. If I am not mistaken even Jose Mourinho said that footballers that have been against VAR are like robbers complaining about cameras in your house.

3. This is the best we can do now to make the sport fair. For example, goal-line technology has proved itself for several years. If FIFA had used such technology earlier referees wouldn't have made mistakes so many times.
dominik.samsel said…
1. What do you think about VAR technology?
I think it's really good addon to football, but I still think that the system needs more time and improvements to it. For example it's not regulated when to use it or not, and sometimes it's just hilarious how judges are using it.

2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?
In my opinion only footballers who don't play with rules are against this system. Until now they sometimes were able to fool judge, but it's definitely harder to it with VAR.

3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport
It's getting more and more popular and I think it's very good. Actually if we talking about technology in clothes, gear, these are with us for a long time. Just check how football jerseys looked like in 90's - it's like different age in comparison to our times!
1. What do you think about VAR technology? At first, I was a bit skeptic to this idea as I thought it would kill the dynamics of the matches. Now, as I have seen this system in action, I'm more convinced about it and I think it should be introduced. Nowadays, in football everything on the field is happening faster than it used to be some years ago and sometimes it's really hard for referee to rate every situation correctly. So, in my opinion, VAR is a good solution.
2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system? I've never played in football professionally so I my opinion will be subjective. I believe in that system, cause it show situations as it happens - it's fair.
3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport? Nowadays everything is pushed to the limits, all of the athletes compete with each other’s on a highest level. To get to the top you need to take whatever can bring you closer - so now the technology comes in handy. Not only for fair judgment, but to improve your overall skills, technique, stamina etc. Advanced technology gives athletes huge advantages.
Marta Matysik said…
1. So the arbiters/ judge will be useless. They will not make decisions alone and the controversy will continue. In addition, players are more concerned about the technique and correctness of scoring the goal. This has good and bad sides because it will not be possible to bribe the referee, but matches can become less spectacular, because players will not stick. And not accepting the goal, etc., can cause fans to be nervous anyway.

2. As a player I wouldn’t be happy because there is much more pressure to your technic and normally you don’t have to much time for reaction. But on the other hand much more situation could be good for my team.

3. How I wrote higher I have good and bad sides. Advanced technologies are to improve the assessment in some way because the human eye is not reliable. Advanced technologies are to improve the assessment in some way because the human eye is not reliable. Thanks to which the judge's decision is confirmed. However, probably not in all areas of sport is needed or will be actually used.
Jakub Kisiała said…
Personally, I don't like football, but I think that the judge's subjective judgment is part of the emotion of the game. If everything depended on technology, the match would be extremely boring in my opinion. On the place of footballers, I'd rather not have such technology. Makes it difficult to bend the rules of the game and what is part of the sport. In general, the use of technology in sport for purposes other than TV transmission is bad for me.
1. I watch football matches and in my opinion VAR is the best that could happen to this sport. It doesn't matter if the match will last a few seconds longer. The most important thing is that matches are fair thanks to that
2. Yes, definitely. How often was heard, for example, about an unrecognized goal or a goal from offside. Thanks to VAR, there will be no more of these situations
3. I have no problem with that. As long as this technology helps make matches fair I am always in favor of it. Goalline technology also helped in a few cases. Technology makes sport fairer
Zygmunt Z said…
1. What do you think about VAR technology?

I am not a football fan but I think that everyone heard something about those “famous” games where the players tried to bend the rules to their advantage and the referee didn’t see that. I think that for example, Diego Maradona couldn’t score with his hand if VAR was present at that time.

2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?

I guess that it depends on the side – there is always someone who is to blame and there is always someone who is the victim of someone’s behavior. When VAR is introduced, I think that players have to be much more careful with the decisions they are making on the pitch.

3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?

I like the idea if it can help solving the issues a sport is facing at the moment.

1. What do you think about VAR technology?
It seems to be cool and usefull as It support the decision making in football matches!
2. If you were in footballers’ shoes, would you be in favor if the system?
Well I am very bad football player so I think that the system wouldn't make me worst that I am in this game hahah :)
3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?
This is really good idea of making football matches fair. Subject of simulation of the players is being talked almost every football match im watching.
Adam Tokarczyk said…
1. It's great and I wish it was implemented earlier. I can't understand how they could use technology in for example tennis, where they check balls trajectory to see whether ball was in or out of bounds, yet can't make a single check in football, which seems to be most popular sport around the world. Answer for it is pretty simple though, as with VAR, skewing result of the match is much harder, but as we can see it's still doable.
2. If I was a good footballer I'd love it. If I was a bad one, then probably not so much, because with surveillance gap in skills grows even wider.
3. There should be technology implemented everywhere, where it's possible. It's not only making things more fair, but sometimes also easier. Players can argue with referee decision. With camera? They can't. How can they say they didn't do something that was recorder just seconds ago. Moreover it like I already mentioned, gap in skills would be bigger, so we can assume that sport would become more enjoyable to watch. I used to love football, nowadays I can't stand those wimps that try to extort a faul, or fall from a single touch with appearance like they were hit by an elephant.
3. What do you think about the use of advanced technology in sport?

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