please log in to view this image There is quite a debate raging about the use of VAR. Looking at the above picture I would say that Pukki was onside, but it appears that his armpit was offside. Many forwards have learnt to "sit on the shoulder" of defenders, and with their speed nip in to score. So are you happy about how it is being used? Are you happy about the delays in the game? Is it taking away the spontaneous reaction from fans when their team scores? My suggestion is that the offside law should be judged by where a player's feet are, not by his hair blowing in the wind, or a fingernail that was not cut short enough. There are many opinions about making sure that the ref or lino gets it right, but some are saying that the officials are right and VAR is wrong. I think I would rather live with a ref who gets it wrong from time to time.
I would agree that Pukki was onside here. Surely they are playing 'football' whereby the position of the feet is the deciding factor. We have long learned to live with the occasional human mistakes which referees sometimes make, and this is, for me, preferable to having to wait to see if goals have been confirmed or not.
As I have said before I wish they would scrap the offside law. Given that we are going to have to live with it why don't they change it so that a player is offside if the attacking player is actually ahead of the defender in everyway, ie there is clear air between them (might be difficult for Linos) but where VAR is involved it would work. Also, the ref should go and look at the monitors and make the decision. As for Maps second yellow, rediculous.....
The law makers and technology combined to make the relatively simple confoundedly (is that even a word?) complicated and controversial. Calling something a clear and obvious error takes the incident from the objective to the subjective... more opinions. The interpretation given to the offside law has been a horse's arse for several years, VAR has highlighted the problem created by those in charge of the game. The real problems run much deeper. Much, much deeper. Trust in the assistant has been dissipated. The decisions being made for them by VAR are beyond what can reasonably be expected from the official with the flag. It's a mess and not one that will be sorted anytime soon.
I don;t think it's the decisions themselves regarding off-side, but the amount of time it takes to make the decision if it's tight, which the above decsion is as, by the laws of the game, Pukki is off-side.The prem is awash with cash, so I don't think it will be long before the software is available that takes the off-side decisions out of human hands and gives the correct result within seconds. As for the rest of VAR, I think the only person who can decide if the referee made a clear and obvious mistake is the referee, so the pitch-side monitor should be used by him, rather than what we have now.
Yesterday on MOTD I noticed how many teams are now using long passes of 40 or more metres. Not hoofball, but some great precision passing. As the offside rule relies on a player being in an offside position at the moment the ball is struck, a lino can be looking back along the length of the pitch and then have to switch his view across the width at the same moment. This is difficult, but VAR should be able to help. A clear and obvious error should be at the heart of it, but I would argue that in the photo above it is neither.
You're right in saying that the time taken is the negative factor - it kills the flow of the game and also the atmosphere in the crowd. It takes time away from crucial periods of the match and adds it onto injury time, which is a period of time wasting for many teams. In fact, appealing for VAR to be used could become a form of time wasting in some circumstances. My fear is that referees may get worried about making any decisions on their own, and may resort to VAR more and more as a result. We don't want our game to become the stop and start game which American football is. We have been living with refereeing mistakes all our lives and love the game in spite of them.
With regard to the time taken by VAR checks, is it not time to introduce a rugby style count down clock that is halted at every interruption to play? At least we would have two halves of 45 minutes of football!
I think the goal is to prevent unnecessary interruptions in play Dave. All interuptions effect the flow of the game. We all know the scene - team A is leading 1-0 with 5 minutes to go and team B is throwing the kitchen sink at them - what happens is time wasting of every conceivable type. Whether taking extra long at set pieces, apparent injuries without cause and, the worst of all, making substitutions during injury time (which I would forbid). I know that time is added on, but they break up the flow of the play - which is exactly what team A wants to do. If team A is winning 2-0 and team B scores with a few minutes left then there is a vested interest there in breaking up play - so what better than contesting the goal and having 3 minutes until the goal is given (or not) ?
Games used to start at 3.00pm, you had 10 minutes for half time, and by the time you had found your way to the junction of Market Street and High Street at 5.00pm, the Evening News would have the football results in the Stop Press. Today with a longer half time, added minutes to both 1st and 2nd half, you are likely to still be trying to get out of the ground at 5.00pm. You are also likely to be stalled in your progress to the car park by the fans trying to get the results on their phones. Seriously though back in those days players became expert at wasting time in the last few minutes of a game even without substitutes coming on. It could take quite a time for a ball to come back from the Vicarage Road terrace if we had a one goal advantage. I do think that seeing as it costs more than 1/6d to get into the ground these days we should expect to see 90 minutes of football, and have thought the stopped clock idea is one that should at least be tried.
Time wasting can be easily eliminated. Just stop the clock when the ball goes out of play - restart it when play recommences. Time wasting would cease as there would be no reason for it. Clock managed independently of the referee.. It could also ensure that the goalkeeper releases the ball within 6 seconds of getting hold of it. Ok, the time in play would be what ? 60 minutes, which just goes to showe how much time is wasted ! VAR is currently farcical. There is a solution - as in cricket. If it's marginal go with the referee's (linesman) decision. Also, the offside law should apply to feet position. The number of legitimate goals ruled out by an armpit, and which had the person been a few cm more 'onside' wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever, has ruined this season.
Looks like changes could be made to the offside rule which does need sorting out I think. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50944416
Doesn't look like it to me, it looks like someone has to sit there with a mouse and click on things to line them up, and it's that which is what is taking all the time. Personally I think the off-side rule will change to the position of the feet, rather than and body-part that can legitimately score, as it will make it far easier to judge, therefore far quicker, than it is now. I don't like that idea of letting them stand if it's marginal, that puts in a grey area to the rule where it's now black and white and lets someone decide based on thier personal opinion.
Simple, suspend its use until the offside rule has been updated to allow for VAR to be used in games or not use Var for offside.