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‘To VAR’, or ‘Not to VAR’: That is the question

By Akhilesh Kulkarni

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 06: The match referee checks the VAR system before awarding a penalty in favor of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United at Parc des Princes on March 06, 2019 in Paris, . (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 06: The match referee checks the VAR system before awarding a penalty in favor of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United at Parc des Princes on March 06, 2019 in Paris, . (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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Manchester City managed to edge pass Swansea city in the FA Cup thanks to some controversial decisions made by the referee in absence of VAR. This reopened the much-anticipated debate on the use of VAR in all the competitions.

The newly introduced VAR technology in various leagues brought hope to better decision-making on the football field. However, the ‘hit and trial’ system remains a debate for pundits and fans around the world.

The technology has its own pros and cons with benefits dominating the later. Though it has been accepted unanimously by many, VAR was also criticized for its failures witnessed in some of the recent matches of Champions League football.

The first leg in the Round of 16 between Ajax and Real Madrid saw no foul offered by the referee when the Ajax defender was knocked down, ultimately leading to Madrid’s goal. Ajax lost 1-2 to the Whites in the first leg.

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On top of this, there have been instances when referees have given penalties for soft touches in the penalty box. The significant problem over here is that football, being the physical game that it is, there are always contacts to gain control over the ball. But when the referees see it in slow motion through VAR, they tend to offer a penalty which would have not been the case for the softest of touches in real time.

In spite of some glitches, VAR has been applauded for a considerable number of reasons. It has successfully helped to track offside goals. In addition, some referees have used it to track eminent fouls which were turned into red cards. The classic example we saw the other day, in the quarterfinal match of the FA Cup where VAR has not been implemented yet.

Manchester City was offered a controversial offside goal which steered them into the next stage. Pep’s second goal too came off a penalty which was incorrectly offered to the Blues. VAR killed Swansea City ‘s dream win, in spite of producing an extraordinary performance in the first half.

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Therefore, it becomes necessary to implement VAR in all the competitions in this technology world. It has only been the first year for many leagues to adapt to the system. There are definitely some gaps in the system but over the period it can always be tweaked and improved as required.

It will be intriguing to see how VAR turns out, especially now that we are entering deep into the knockout stages of Champions League football.

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