VAR & Martin Atkinson

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Have you seen the Liverpool goal disallowed by VAR against Villa?

If anybody can defend VAR after seeing that I would be surprised.

Why are they so determined to disallow perfectly good goals, and give undeserved ones? Why????

** UPDATE **

Everything is now fine. The Premier League has confirmed this morning that the Liverpool players armpit* was offside, which obviously explains everything and gives great comfort to those of us that thought the game was going to the dogs.

*This is not a joke nor satire.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Have you seen the Liverpool goal disallowed by VAR against Villa?

If anybody can defend VAR after seeing that I would be surprised.

Why are they so determined to disallow perfectly good goals, and give undeserved ones? Why????

We need to go back to why the offside rule exists in the first place. I once played in a game where the officials failed to turn up and so we played without lino’s or the offside rule. It was horrible; the shape of the game is completely ruined as attackers can effectively ‘goal hang’ and defenders have to drop deep to compensate. Everything gets stretched and frankly it barely resembles football as we know it anymore.

It’s a fundamental rule, but not one that needs officiating to the millimetre. The concept of VAR is fine but it needs to go back to its original mission statement - correcting “clear and obvious errors”. By all means sort out ghost goals, hands of God and general refereeing clangers, but if a decision requires fancy lines and on screen graphics to establish a decision then fundamentally it’s not clear or obvious and should be left alone.

VAR is something that the match going fan should experience two or three times a season, not two or three times a game.

Footage has appeared online which seems to show VAR initially showing Firminho as onside yesterday until Martin Atkinson adjusted the lines to make him offside. Surely this is balant case of cheating by Atkinson and a sackable offence? Regardless who is on the receiving end of it.

We have no technology for the exact release of the ball (thankfully) so it’s never going to be perfect . Thing is the linesman flagged it off so if VAR hadn’t even got involved it wouldn’t have stood

Quoted from supertown

We have no technology for the exact release of the ball (thankfully) so it’s never going to be perfect . Thing is the linesman flagged it off so if VAR hadn’t even got involved it wouldn’t have stood

That makes it even worse.

VAR was used to check a marginal offside decision and it rules in favour of the defender, when it is blindingly obvious to every man and his dog he was onside.

Klopp is right - these decisions can cost jobs, championships and relegation issues.

Who is looking at the TV screens anyway? How are they vetted for neutrality? A referee has to account for his decisions, these faceless people are handing out wrong decisions left right and centre without any comeback.

They’re hardly faceless when they are PGMOL listed officials who will officiate a game on the other day of the weekend and at least once at every ground in the Premier League in a season. They name them in the officials appointments too.

Quoted from LH

They’re hardly faceless when they are PGMOL listed officials who will officiate a game on the other day of the weekend and at least once at every ground in the Premier League in a season. They name them in the officials appointments too.

What are 'PGMOL' officials for felicitations sake?

On the subject of penalties I think commentators make it worse with their constant references to 'he WON a penalty'

Its not something you 'win' unless you are deliberately setting out to a) be fouled or b) deceive the referee by diving

Drives me mad!

Quoted from LH

They’re hardly faceless when they are PGMOL listed officials who will officiate a game on the other day of the weekend and at least once at every ground in the Premier League in a season. They name them in the officials appointments too.

Oh I have no doubt they are highly qualified - isn't everyone these days? It is just in the common sense department they fail.

The match referee gets told in no uncertain manner from the crowd about his decisions; these faceless but highly qualified people don't.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Oh I have no doubt they are highly qualified - isn't everyone these days? It is just in the common sense department they fail.

The match referee gets told in no uncertain manner from the crowd about his decisions; these faceless but highly qualified people don't.

Which of course is why refs want VAR just as much as the faceless ones.

The only fair way to deal with this problem is not to abandon VAR but to abandon referees and lines persons. Have the whole game refereed from a box up on high with a very loud hooter to stop and start play and a very loud speaker system to notify decisions to the crowd with a repeat on the big screen. It won't be football, but there again ....... is the PL football anyway?