Thierry Henry believes football has 'a lot to learn' when it comes to technology, as the debate over VAR continues to rumble on.
The use of VAR in the Premier League has been criticised for various reasons, including its lack of consistency and transparency. Technology has been at football's disposal for many years, but the sport has only decided to use it in recent years.
Goal-line technology was belatedly brought in by the Premier League ahead of the 2013/14 campaign, and it took another six years for VAR to be adopted. Other sports, meanwhile, have championed technology for two decades to improve the standard of officiating.
Unlike some critics, Henry isn't against the use of technology but believes football needs to learn quickly from other sports - such as cricket and rugby. "In football we’re still behind, we have so much to learn," the Arsenal legend recently said at the Leaders Week sport business conference at Twickenham Stadium - as quoted by Football365.
"What I can see in American football, in rugby, in cricket or whatever it is, tennis, it’s instant. We also know that the referee will give you an explanation, they have a microphone, they talk. Obviously in tennis, are you going to battle with the decision of the computer?
"If you start to do that, then you’re in trouble. With VAR, what I get annoyed with is it’s not quick enough. Then it’s still the decision of someone in a truck or wherever they are, because it’s not VAR that makes the decision, VAR is just there to recall the situation.
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"And then the man in the truck will call to the referee to say you made a mistake or you didn’t make a mistake. Sometimes they help, yes, sometimes they help, no, but I can also understand that a human being can make a mistake.
"[Semi-automated offside] in the Champions League, for me, as long as it’s quick, as long as it’s quick and we have an explanation, I can see that the player was offside, you move on.
"What’s annoying is when you get lost in translation, when someone tells you something, another one, the rule changes the week after, it can become tough. We have a lot to learn in football."
Several controversial VAR calls have been made this season, such as when Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was not punished for pulling Chelsea star Marc Cucurella's hair - or when Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock was penalised for fouling Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, despite being pushed in the back by defender Tyrick Mitchell.
Fans were left baffled by those calls and Henry wants to see greater transparency. "What we want to see is the game going on," added the World Cup winner.
"Another thing that’s very difficult for me is I used to score goals as a player. Sometimes [now] you don’t even know if you need to jump. Am I jumping? Am I celebrating? Am I not celebrating? It kills the beat of the joy of the game."
