VAR has failed – the new rules are a joke and Premier League should scrap it immediately | Football | Sport

Ever feel like you’ve been lied to? That’s how football fans feel right now. We were promised improvements to referee standards when VAR was introduced in 2019. Fast forward seven years, and it’s clear to see the experiment has failed.

Is it any wonder, given the people who were making the mistakes that led to VAR’s introduction are the same ones sitting in front of a TV adjudicating on decisions? The lack of joined-up thinking is remarkable.

You can excuse referees for making mistakes in the heat of the moment. Professional football is fast-paced, and officials are tasked with making a split-second decision about something they may or may not have had a clear view of.

That same grace simply cannot extend to those in the VAR room, given they have the benefit of seeing the same incident from pretty much every conceivable angle. So why do we sacrifice most of the things that make football great just to accommodate the failed VAR experiment?

Any football fan who enjoys going to a match live knows one of life’s greatest feelings is celebrating a goal. With VAR in play, celebrations have been rendered somewhat meaningless. What if a toenail was offside? What if it unknowingly glanced a player’s arm? What if there was an innocuous coming together 30 seconds before the goal eventually went in?

They’re just some of the ludicrous reasons VAR has intervened to rule out goals in the past, with football fans forced to pay the price. Some will argue that the pursuit of perfection is more important, but what is football without those moments of escape?

And the good news for all of the VAR deniers is that it’s looking like it’s about to get even worse. Confirmation that it will get even more power followed the latest IFAB meet-up, with one of the headlines that VAR will now be able to intervene for second yellow cards.

While in isolation, that sounds positive. But it most likely means another nail in the coffin for the fast-paced nature of football. On top of that, VAR will also be able to rule out goals after they’re scored if they come from a corner that shouldn’t have been awarded. Just another thing fans will have to worry about before deciding to celebrate a goal.

At least they’ve agreed to put time limits on throw-ins and substitutions, though! Give with one hand, but take away with the other.