I would scrap VAR and go back to allowing referees to have the confidence in themselves to make their own decisions, the good and the bad.

Incorrect decisions were always a frustration that could be at least understood as human error. Introducing this technology should mitigate at least and remove at best those instances. But it doesn’t do it consistently. And this is where the VAR officials behave as they do on the pitch , inconsistent application of the laws.

Last night at Fulham , the contact made on Wilson was similar to that on Eze against Everton. Fulham get a penalty and a goal, we ended up with our player booked for simulation.

Ream last night and Young of Everton on Sunday….both already on a yellow card , both concede penalties but neither received a second yellow . As for the headbutt incident, the referees post match explanation beggars belief.

Refereeing standards were not good enough pre VAR and if anything they are getting worse. And VAR just sucking the life out of the game

Old, Ungifted and White

This extracted piece was posted on the BBC Sport feed today and I think is quite close to the mark for me:

"We are told its not there to re referee a game but game after game across the entire premiership we are seeing it do just that. Reduce VAR to offsides and serious foul play and give the powers back to referees so they can referee a game."

If you had a shortlist of what would/wouldn't be looked at, with very clear wording around what constitutes a VAR intervention, the technology should be in place to support decision making.

Edited by Nicholas91 (28 Nov 2023 12.59pm)

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!

As VAR continues to be refined and integrated into football, it is clear that the dialogue and debate surrounding its implementation will persist, highlighting the ongoing negotiations between tradition, technology and the pursuit of fairness within the game.

I heard some gentleman opine, in relation to penalty decisions, that the VAR, with all the camera angles, should make the call if he/she believes the incident is worthy of a spot-kick and to hell with all this "High bar" / "Clear and obvious" concept.
This would negate the charade of the referee being referred to the monitor and spending minutes reviewing the footage before agreeing with the VAR !

The powers are very conscious of the game not being re-refereed and wish the final decision to rest with the on-field official, accordingly I cannot envisage this change being introduced.

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When I was a young man, the simple "rule" for a rugby referee was "if you can't see it, you can't give it." Everyone accepted that referees were, like the players and spectators, fallible. I suppose people will say that that can't work in the professional era. My answer would be, "Why not?"