HOWARD WEBB, the PGMOL chief, has a mammoth job to regain the trust of players, managers and fans after the biggest VAR blunder we’ve ever seen.
We have had inconsistent calls on handballs, challenges and penalty incidents since the technology was introduced.
But there’s a major problem when we start getting factual decisions wrong, such as the goal by Liverpool’s Luis Diaz being unfairly ruled out for offside against Spurs.
VAR isn’t the problem — it’s the personnel using the technology and it’s no wonder people are losing trust and faith in the system.
No one wants PGMOL statements, apologises or explanations on TV shows — refs’ boss Webb must forget all that.
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He just needs to sort out VAR — and the standard of officiating — fast because the technology is a good tool IF used correctly.
The Premier League has the best players and managers and the supporters pay a lot of money.
But the officials, with VAR bunglers Darren England and AVAR Dan Cook the latest culprits, nowhere near the level required.
Everyone makes mistakes but they are now happening every weekend.
Here’s a five-point plan to avoid further horror shows:
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IMPROVE COMMUNICATION
Only the on-field referee and VAR should speak — nobody else.
During the review process, from the cases we have heard, the system is too chaotic with far too much chit-chat going on. Just cut out the "mate this" and "pal that".
Conversations must be more precise, to the point and clinical. We can learn from cricket and both rugby codes where reviews are slick.
At the moment, there’s too much going on over the mic which leads to confusion.
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MAKE THE AUDIO PUBLIC
Fans must be allowed to hear the conversation between ref and VAR. We’re in 2023, not 1973. I know IFAB currently prevents this and Webb wants this to come in.
But we need to push to make this happen because Webb and Co must regain the trust and faith of everyone in the game.
Suspicions have been raised over some VAR offside decisions in recent weeks — but the only way to be transparent is for fans to hear the audio.
It would remove that layer of doubts that is now creeping in.
MORE TRAINING AND EDUCATION
VAR officials had four days of extra training before the start of the season — but was that really enough?
Referees have not trained for all those years to sit in front of a TV screen. It’s a different job and do they really know what they are looking for?
Pundits have sat there for years, have the experience of watching matches for hours on end to make the correct judgements.
Prem clubs haven’t helped themselves by voting against the semi-automated offside system and it needs to be revisited and introduced straight away.
SET UP A SPECIALIST PANEL OF VAR OPERATORS
We need a dedicated team that just focuses on VAR because the personnel at present is a huge issue.
They must be non-active officials, ex-refs or former players who know the laws of the game.
Ex-players know what a poor challenge is and also the natural and unnatural positions of the arm/hand when judging deliberate and accidental handball.
Mike Dean was an excellent ref but not suited to using VAR and was quickly moved on.
STOP USING STILL PICTURES
When ref Simon Hooper went to the monitor at Spurs on Saturday, VAR England had lined up a still picture of Curtis Jones’ tackle on Yves Bissouma.
That immediately plants a seed in the ref’s mind over what the outcome will be.
Stills and slow motion make every challenge much worse than what it is.
Reviews must be in real time initially.
