Will VAR Change Football for the Better?
Discussion
RichB said:
I can't find the montage I am looking for but this video of George Best shows how it was possible to ride crashing tackles, stay on one's feet and still put the ball in the net, usually in thick mud and while making the entire opposition's defence look like idiots! I don't when it became fashionable to fall over rather than dazzle spectators with dribbling wizardry but whenever it was it was a sorry day for football!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJWWA-h_-5g
p.s. I am not a ManU fan, never have been, but looking back on this makes me long for the days of entertainers in football.
I think you probably mean when Chopper Harris makes a last ditch hack at Best and he just rides it and carries on, legendary ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJWWA-h_-5g
p.s. I am not a ManU fan, never have been, but looking back on this makes me long for the days of entertainers in football.
And no I'm definitely not a Utd fan but a Blues fan but still appreciate Best's skill. The good old days when men were men.
monty999 said:
I think you probably mean when Chopper Harris makes a last ditch hack at Best and he just rides it and carries on, legendary ! And no I'm definitely not a Utd fan but a Blues fan but still appreciate Best's skill. The good old days when men were men.
Probably the one. I'm a (long suffering) Hammers fan and I well remember watching Charlton, Law and Best run out of the tunnel at Upton Park and thinking, how the hell will we beat this lot? Usually we didn't! 
Anyway I digress, we should get back to VAR. monty999 said:
I think you probably mean when Chopper Harris makes a last ditch hack at Best and he just rides it and carries on, legendary !
And no I'm definitely not a Utd fan but a Blues fan but still appreciate Best's skill. The good old days when men were men.
Yes that's the one.And no I'm definitely not a Utd fan but a Blues fan but still appreciate Best's skill. The good old days when men were men.
Things were different back then and the Chelsea Leeds final of 1970 shows challenges going in neck high and not even a booking so there was no point in George Best going down.
Then again many players from that era can barely walk in retirement. For their own health would they have been better off jumping over tackles rather than taking a full hit?
I had a meal with Ron Harris and he did mention that George Best was fearless and never pulled out of a challenge.
How long before there’s a penalty not given that needs a review, the other team breaks and scores and then the ref goes back and checks the VAR then gives the penalty.
Worse still, what if he doesn’t give it, the other side has a 3 on 1 break and the ref blows up while the balls in the centre of thbeoitch to review the VAR and decides no penalty.
Both the above will be compounded in time by refs eventually choosing not to make a decision, other than to go to VAR for every single decision. Umpires in cricket rarely give a run out any more, refs in Rugby League go to the video replay for every try, unless it’s a clear one. In time, every single decision will be referred and the refs will have even less credibility, if that’s possible.
Worse still, what if he doesn’t give it, the other side has a 3 on 1 break and the ref blows up while the balls in the centre of thbeoitch to review the VAR and decides no penalty.
Both the above will be compounded in time by refs eventually choosing not to make a decision, other than to go to VAR for every single decision. Umpires in cricket rarely give a run out any more, refs in Rugby League go to the video replay for every try, unless it’s a clear one. In time, every single decision will be referred and the refs will have even less credibility, if that’s possible.
Brave Fart said:
Twig - sorry but I cannot agree with your "injustice is what makes it memorable" argument. I take precisely the opposite view; my team should win or lose fair and square, not because of officials' errors. I don't have cherished memories of Lampard's "goal" in South Africa, it just pees me off that the officials didn't give it.
I don't have cherished memories re Lampard, I have bitter memories. But at least they are memories. Many games may be exciting at the time but fade in the memory. That Lampard goal will be discussed in 50 years time, like England's 3rd in the 66 final. Can I suggest you give up football and take up chess. Best player wins, no controversy, justice is always done, fair and square.
yellowjack said:
I'm also sick of comments from pundits along the lines of "you can't blame the lad for going down like that" even where there is (minimal) contact. We can. And we should. Players, especially forwards, ought to be hungry for goalscoring opportunities, not on the lookout for the slightest excuse to make a mountain out of a molehill.
The refs do a fine job but one area they fail at is giving pens when the player doesn't go down. If the player stays on his feet, he doesn't get a pen, regardless of how clear the foul, even if the chance to score is negatively affected. Look at the Hazard pen against Arsenal a few weeks back. He was clearly fouled, but went down like he'd been shot. To much criticism. If he'd stayed on his feet and appealed, no way would he have got that decision.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
I don't have cherished memories re Lampard, I have bitter memories. But at least they are memories. Many games may be exciting at the time but fade in the memory. That Lampard goal will be discussed in 50 years time, like England's 3rd in the 66 final.
Can I suggest you give up football and take up chess. Best player wins, no controversy, justice is always done, fair and square.
Ah, well you'd be wrong about chess - they have refs (actually called arbiters) in tournament chess and there's often disputes. No diving though, to be fair.Can I suggest you give up football and take up chess. Best player wins, no controversy, justice is always done, fair and square.
Are you really saying that bitter memories are a good thing? If so, we disagree I'm afraid.
Why not ask Northern Ireland fans how they feel about the play off against Switzerland recently? By your logic they should be telling their grandchildren about a dodgy handball decision rather than their (maybe, I suppose) glorious campaign in Russia 2018. You're also forgetting the players who've been cheated. "Good old Thierry Henry, creating memories for life with his handball against us" said no ROI player, ever.
Sorry, but celebrating injustice like it's a good thing ("making memories") is, well, not for me.
As for giving up football (tongue in cheek I know) - Portsmouth need all the help they can get!
Brave Fart said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
I don't have cherished memories re Lampard, I have bitter memories. But at least they are memories. Many games may be exciting at the time but fade in the memory. That Lampard goal will be discussed in 50 years time, like England's 3rd in the 66 final.
Can I suggest you give up football and take up chess. Best player wins, no controversy, justice is always done, fair and square.
Ah, well you'd be wrong about chess - they have refs (actually called arbiters) in tournament chess and there's often disputes. No diving though, to be fair.Can I suggest you give up football and take up chess. Best player wins, no controversy, justice is always done, fair and square.
Are you really saying that bitter memories are a good thing? If so, we disagree I'm afraid.
Why not ask Northern Ireland fans how they feel about the play off against Switzerland recently? By your logic they should be telling their grandchildren about a dodgy handball decision rather than their (maybe, I suppose) glorious campaign in Russia 2018. You're also forgetting the players who've been cheated. "Good old Thierry Henry, creating memories for life with his handball against us" said no ROI player, ever.
Sorry, but celebrating injustice like it's a good thing ("making memories") is, well, not for me.
As for giving up football (tongue in cheek I know) - Portsmouth need all the help they can get!
As a Chelsea fan, winning trophies has been great. But some of my happiest memories are from when we were complete crap.
And all those players who have been cheated almost certainly cheated someone else at some point. And I bet a pound to a penny I could go thru the whole Northern Ireland WC campaign, and find dodgy decisions that got them into the play off in the first place at the expense of the team that missed out on the play offs. Perhaps NI fans should ponder that before they start bleating about decisions. Same with the Republic and the Thierry Henry thing.
Just for the record, the Thierry Henry handball goal would not get disallowed under the current VAR regime. It wasn't a penalty call, offside or mistaken identity, which are the 3 things VAR covers. And it's nothing to do with goal line technology. So the goal would stand today under VAR. Same with the Maradonna hand of god goal. That's not within VAR remit either.
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