04 Sep 2023 08:50:20


Seano_ has written an article entitled, The VAR City Blues about the VAR system.

1.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 11:23:46
Really enjoyed the article mate and every criticism of var is widely welcomed. For me- it’s corruption alone. I don’t think it’s coming from the clubs- (though I could be wrong) I think it’s coming from betting gangs across the world. I’ve said this again and again and nothing has led me to think any differently. I think when it suits- Man City will get the“ luck” required to win the league at the opportune moment. I expect them to struggle a while and then get about 12 soft penalties in the latter half of the season. Every top league in Europe has been done for match fixing. All except the premier league. I find that very suspicious.

2.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 12:17:50
I agreee that VAR is awful and could improve massive. Question for anybody that knows why don't the FA use the same technology for offside that they had in WC? They made it look so easy and the graphic was great when showing it on reply.

3.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 13:53:20
Hi Seano, enjoyed the article mate. I’m a former ref at lower league level but had friends who were prem officials so I would often go to EPL games as a guest. I have no evidence, other than the behaviours I’ve witnessed back in the day, but. I’m in no doubt there is a group of PGMOL officials who cheat either through their allegiance to clubs as supporters from their youth or out of a dislike for certain players and managers. I say this because I know referees compare notes with each other about players and managers example Salah is labelled a diver and does not get awarded fouls, compare that with Grealish and Kane and what they get away with and you might even suspect an element of racism, food for thought.

Anyway they cheat, only City or Utd would get away with Onana’s pen v Wolves or the ridiculous offside goal v Fulham. Too many referees are based in Manchester, Cheshire or support those teams. Liverpool would have very quickly been on the opposite end of both those decisions if the same situation arose.

I’ve been telling Ken, Shappy and James on the Utd page for years, unsurprisingly they don’t believe it and think I’m a conspiracy theorist nutter. The admission by Mike Dean is an interesting one and probably him getting a dig back at Webb for the way Webb treated him when he took over.
I was at Anfield yesterday and found it hilarious that Darren England was trying to find an offside in the Sobozslai goal, the ground couldn’t believe they were even suggesting it when it was announced, given the goal City were gifted that would have been too brazen even for them. Take a look at the stats, England, Coote, Tierney, Atkinson have all made a catalogue of horrendous decisions against Liverpool or for City/ United in recent seasons. I never like Taylor on our games or those involving Manchester teams, it’s odd that Mike Dean only got the odd Everton or Liverpool fixture at the end of his career yet the Cheshire/ Manchester refs get all the games that influence the title race. Of the elite experienced refs Oliver is the only one I don’t think has any bias, there are some decent ones coming through to replace the old guard however they aren’t helped by the type of VAR nonsense that the young lad who refereed the Liverpool Brighton fixture got lumbered with.
The integrity of the game is more questionable than ever before, Howard Webb does not appear to be the man to save it with his less intervention, obvious only interference instructions for the use of VAR, it’s all utter rubbish…. just get the decision right or scrap VAR entirely. I thought umpires call in cricket was silly when the ball is clipping the stumps but referees on the field call in football unless it’s an “obvious” error is just plain madness. 95% of the decisions are obvious to us all as players, spectators, managers alike only a very small percentage are subjective around who initiated contact and whether it’s enough to go to ground. City will win the league and if Spurs, Arsenal or anyone else dare to threaten that position then the PGMOL will do what it does best, remember the handball by City at Goodison the other season last minute? Not dissimilar to Onana v Wolves was it? Clear? Yes, obvious? Yes…. given by VAR? no …. Wonder why?.

4.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 15:20:24
Very good article Seano, my two-pence worth on VAR:

Offsides - really annoy me I got to say, the ruling out goals for what must be a millimetre is just ridiculous. Honestly, I think the way to check offsides is just a simple freeze frame - look at the still. You see right away the obvious onsides and offsides. I mean just talking Liverpool, the Milner one against West Ham? A simple still shows he's about a yard off, no fan would complain. The Sterling one against City years ago? A simple still shows he's about 5 yards onside, again obvious so no complaints. Then you have the tight ones, honestly if fans look at that and find it hard to judge then the decision goes with the attacking player. What fan would argue, looks on, tight but too close to tell so it is what it is - honestly, offsides would be sorted in seconds, not the 4-5 minutes currently

For me though, by far the biggest thing football could do is take a leaf out of what Rugby do. Penalty given? Fans crying out in disbelief? Show the replay that clearly shows him moving his hand toward the ball - no complaints given, it's blatant - and that's what i'd like to see, these decisions made quickly and shown to the fans on the big screens

But that is also one of the main issues - these decisions are so blatantly obvious yet the wrong decision is given? I mean if you look at:
- The Onana 'foul' vs Wolves this season
- Rashford's dive, I mean no contact whatsoever
- the Rodri handball against Everton
- the penalty City got at Wolves last season. The player jumped, hands above his head, the ball hit his ribs, clear as day on every replay yet a penalty for handball was given
If the correct decision was given for those few examples above and the replay shown 30 secs later on the big screen in the grounds not one fan could argue, is what it is and when it's shown you can see how obvious it was. But that is the major issue though, time and time again the wrong decision is given - how and why?

Look Seano, like you I could put on the tin hat and point out that the 2 Manchester clubs usually get away with these things but fans of smaller clubs will point out that whilst that is true, more of these calls go the way of bigger clubs in general so how do we stop it?

I agree, hearing the refs discuss these issues would be a start. The Mike Dean revelation is just ridiculous though isn't it? That was a blatant hair pull and tbf an argument could be made to disallow both goals, there was a blatant foul right beside the linesman in the build up to the other goal conceded

But that's the issue. VAR is supposed to help refs, I mean look the onfield refs will miss things, the game moves so quickly that things look different in real time than what actually happened. For example, the Utd/ Arsenal match yesterday - looked a clear foul and penalty on Havertz, VAR showed there was no contact and he was looking for it. Completely the right call. Other times players are in the way etc - but VAR doesn't always get involved when it should and more often than not is used to back up their friends who made the wrong call. We then have Dermot Gallagher or the PGMOL come out and explain why the decision was correct. Then the following week, when the exact same thing happens and a different decision is given, again Dermot Gallagher / PGMOL comes out again and explains why this was correct - no mention whatsoever given to how they have contradicted themselves

Look every fan knows refs miss things or call things wrong based on speed of the game etc, what fans do not get is how the VAR official watches the exact same replays and stills that millions of us watching at home see and yet somehow comes to a completely different decision than those millions - absolutely crazy and needs answering as many fans simply cannot believe that is simply sheer incompetence week in week out that is not managed or even seen by higher officials at the PGMOL.

5.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 17:17:31
100% spot on Bill, they just cheat. I deliberately use the word because referees hate that more than any other in the dictionary, if they don’t want to be called cheats then they have to throw out people like Tierney. Remember at Spurs when Jota was about to score 6 yards out and he was barged in the back, Tierney said he stopped and was looking for a foul ? I mean that was a beauty and Kane not getting sent off. Remember Kompany too footed on Salah at the emptyhad on the halfway line and he was through all alone, that was two red cards in one, not given. Remember Sadio chopped at the waist away at Southampton, not given or Cresswell leg breaker at West Ham on Hendo. I could find 30 examples a season of deliberate cheating but sky and the press love it, thrive on it and actively stoke it up.
Like I said in previous posts, I met many of the old guard, Dermot Gallagher was one of the good guys, there were many of his peers who were horrendous, arrogant and power mad. VAR is just creating a breeding ground for it. If they were incompetent then you could say ok but why is that with all the coaching, full time professionals, analysis etc, there’s no way they can be that bad, we could all do VAR sitting at home and get a higher success rate so there’s only one option left…. some of them are corrupt. I feel sorry for the honest ones like Michael Oliver.

6.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 21:48:42
A hack on the tin foil helmets. Large paper clips are a real help.