VAR promised certainty but has only delivered noise and confusion

Players surround referee Stuart Attwell as VAR checks the Newcastle United goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on November 4, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

When VAR was introduced it was done so under the idea that it removes the capacity for human error and it is difficult to argue against that. 

I don’t think there is a player, manager or fan in the land that would want a system whereby the correct decisions were made all the time and there was no scope for human error. 

And that is why it is so incredibly frustrating when clear and obvious mistakes are made by VAR and they are then blamed on the very thing that this was brought in to eradicate - ‘human error’. 

And the truth is that even when VAR does work it is still subjective as it is one person’s interpretation of where to draw the lines for an offside decision and the frame rate means that it is essentially just a best guess. 

Referees checking pitch side monitors has become part of the game (Image credit: Getty Images)

While I don’t think anyone would argue that the percentage of correct decisions has risen but that is not the point, the point is that it has come at the cost of disrupting the rhythm of the game - something football relies on - and then when mistakes are made then they seem worse because we were told that this is exactly what VAR was brought in to get rid of.

Even goal line technology, which was universally welcomed and has improved that part of the game, has fallen foul to mistakes.

Aston Villa may be riding high under Unai Emery both domestically and in Europe but a sliding doors moment could have seen them playing the likes of Plymouth and Rotherham if the technology had been working correctly for the ‘goal’ scored by Sheffield United’s Ollie Norwood back in 2020.

Villa got a point from the game and then ended up surviving by a single point. Bringing in technology to eradicate human error makes sense, but there is too much money in football for that technology to fail.

My feeling at the moment is that we are one major mistake away from a match or even a title being decided in a courtroom and not on the pitch.

And there will not be a player, manager or fan who wants to see that. As it stands VAR has not lived up to its promise and should therefore be scrapped.

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