Premier League chief agrees with Carragher to perfectly sum up VAR controversy

18 April 2023 , 09:51

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VAR and its useage remains a divisive topic (Image: Getty Images)

Crystal Palace co-owner Steve Parish hailed Jamie Carragher's VAR take as he mocked the concept "clear and obvious".

The phrase has become synonymous with VAR since it was introduced at the start of the 2019/20 season. Referees have leaned on the video replay system, based at Stockley Park, for several years but there has been a reluctance to rule on decisions made by the on-pitch official.

As a result VAR have opted to set what they've called a "high bar" for intervention, meaning contentious calls, unless clearly wrong, are left alone. This has angered managers, players and fans, who have struggled with VAR's lack of conviction on certain decisions.

Jamie Carragher highlighted it on Monday Night Football which prompted the Eagles chairman to echo his view. He said on Twitter : "Spot on from @Carra23 on VAR - we surely brought it in to get the right decision as much as possible - not the wrong one that we are told is ‘right’ because the the mistake doesn’t pass the nebulous ‘bar’ of ‘clear and obvious’ error."

Every Premier League club has been on the receiving end of a decision that didn't go their way, which replays showed appeared to be an error. That has led to increased frustration with VAR, which is yet to be universally accepted due to its error-prone nature, which is down to the processes in place.

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Former referee Howard Webb has recently returned to English shores to head up the PGMOL amid continued controversies. The official was the man in the middle for the 2010 World Cup final and is heralded as among the finest referees the country has seen.

VAR was again in the spotlight after it chose not to penalise a handball on Monday night (Sky Sports)

He said earlier this season that he wanted to take the focus off VAR, albeit he is seemingly yet to achieve that goal. He told Sky Sports: "I think the number one thing I want to do is ensure that people understand that good officiating starts on the field, with good decision-making, good management of the game, efficient and effective management of players and that not all of the focus is on VAR.

"Most of the noise I hear when I've been outside of the English game about what happens with officiating here is around VAR. It seems to be the topic of conversation and it has been for a while now. Clearly, there's been some bumps in the road with the implementation but good officiating is something that starts on the field.

"So the focus will be around putting coaching and structures in place to support effective on-field decision-making. Then alongside that is ensuring the VAR works effectively as a safety net to capture those clear and obvious errors that sometimes can still occur with the decision that's taken on the field.

Samuel Meade