28 Jan 2018 08:14:35
I think the way VAR was used last night was a joke. It should only be used in football if it is the same as rugby - big screen for replays, audio for ref and VAR official.

However, even in rugby, where imo refs are generally higher quality as it is a far more technical game, the refs have begun to rely on it more and more slowing the game down considerably.

The biggest difference between officiating football and rugby is the input of the assistant refs. Consultation between ref and 'linesmen' in football is rare whereas it's commonplace in rugby.

I think the answer is to use VAR only for 'it crossed the line' decisions and make 'linesmen' behave like the assistant refs they are supposed to be.

1.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 08:30:51
All I can say is that there a few people sat near us who left after the pen as they just didn’t agree var.

They never came back.

2.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 09:39:48
hard to say in football how much the refs converse because we don't hear them. 3 things for me:

1 - only use VAR to review when the ball goes dead or if the ref wants to review a foul (either in the box or around the pitch) so basically review every goal scored, and then the ref can stop the game if they want to review a potential penalty incident or serious fouls to get a call correct about yellow or red cards

2 - as OP said, make sure that whatever the VAR is watching is made available on the big screen inside stadium

3 - and this is where rugby should make this change too - either allow for audio between ref and VAR to be played live over the stadium or have the ruling announced to the ground as they do in NFL. In rugby they just make a call and when you're there live you often have no idea why they made the call or the rationale. it'd lessen the confusion.

3.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 10:06:03
What i didn't like was each time they reviewed anything it seemed to take forever and what was more annoying is it didn't result in any added on time at the end. 4 mins added time in the 1st half when there were 3 calls to VAR, 2 injuries and subs and 4 goals. Makes you feel cheated out of game time.

4.) 28 Jan 2018
28 Jan 2018 10:41:21
that's a good point mrboot, did the clock not stop during the VAR?