Irregular Thoughts

Share this post

One moment in time

simoncarne.substack.com

One moment in time

Is VAR messing with destiny?

Simon Carne
May 16, 2021
1
5
Share this post

One moment in time

simoncarne.substack.com

As a lifelong supporter of Queens Park Rangers, it is second nature to revel when local rivals, Chelsea, are on the wrong end of a result. So yesterday’s Cup Final result should have been a time of great joy for me. But the decision by VAR (the Video Assistant Referee) to rule out Chelsea’s equaliser as offside was, frankly, absurd.

Yes, the freeze-frame shows the relevant Chelsea player to have his knee in an offside position. But was that the right freeze-frame? The ball was already off the ground. If we wind the clock back to the moment when the ball was still grounded, who can say that the Chelsea knee would not have been OK?

Twitter avatar for @BBCMOTD
Match of the Day @BBCMOTD
WOW! A huge VAR moment in the #FACupFinal! #bbcfacup #bbcfootball #CHELEI
Image
6:08 PM ∙ May 15, 2021
437Likes46Retweets

The late Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly, famously said that football is not “a matter of life and death … it’s more important than that.” Of course, his tongue was in his cheek when he said it (quite possibly in an offside position). Football was not yet the multi-billion pound industry that it has become. It was merely an obsession.

If those who run the game today want technology to assist in fractional decision-making, they need to use the technology correctly. With a video recording at 50 frames per second, it may not be possible to freeze the picture at exactly the right instant. If technology can’t select the perfect moment, football needs to include a margin for error in the judgement.

One of the mantras for VAR is that decisions should be made by the officials on the pitch, except in cases of clear and obvious error. Offside is treated as an exception in the mistaken belief that it is an objective decision. It isn’t. Football has made a clear and obvious error in thinking that it is.

Sign up now to be notified of future issues. And share the site with others.

5
Share this post

One moment in time

simoncarne.substack.com
5 Comments
Charles Harris
Dec 30, 2021

I totally agree. The offside rule has become ridiculous. To be offside, a player has to be interfering with play. If VAR has to get out a ruler to find whether a player is one toenail offside, then clearly he or she is no more or less able to interfere with play than if that toenail were to be 1cm further away or closer to goal.

I've seen decisions go for and against my team (Tottenham, since you ask) and whether in the opponents' favour (this week against Southampton) or in our favour (Champions League quarter final against City) they've been equally stupid.

(PS: I remember being at Loftus Road to watch Rodney Marsh. Those were the days)

Expand full comment
Reply
4 replies by Simon Carne and others
4 more comments…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Simon Carne
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing