VAR Referees: Should they stay or go?

By Roberto, Sports Editor

Since the introduction of VAR (video assistant referees) in football at the end of last season and the beginning of the current season, there has been a lot of controversy on whether it will spoil the atmosphere of a football stadium.

Prior to the beginning of the use of this innovative technology, the VAR was highly anticipated and various pundits had high expectations but after reviewing the effects, now there is a large scale debate on whether they should stay or they should go. Danny Murphy, former Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and current BBC pundit, says, ‘I was all for VAR but now I’m going the opposite way’. Many of his fellow pundits seem to agree with him including Jermaine Jenas, former Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder, who supports both sides of the argument. He says, ‘VAR could be good for the game. It’s comical at times, how long it’s taking and nobody knows what’s going on’.

There are many upsides to this use of technology in football, including accuracy and fairness but despite these up sides, there are flaws. Some of these include: unnecessary waiting times for decisions to be proved, goals being overturned after huge celebrations and that prevention of error is not definite. Another controversial act by FIFA is the addition of VAR in the Russia 2018 World Cup which causes a huge debate when you consider that it is the largest competition in world football.