Premier League clubs have asked the league to adopt a light-touch VAR. The use of VAR at Euro 2020 has mostly garnered praise, with fans and critics alike praising the minimal interference into the dynamics of matches.
Premier League Clubs Want Light-Touch VAR
VAR Controversies Last Season
The 2020/21 Premier League season was filled with VAR controversies. Offside calls and handball decisions were the most contentious. Under the new handball rule, a penalty would be awarded if the defender’s hands were far away from the body in an ‘unnatural’ position. However, that approach has had its problem too. The decision on the unnatural position of the hands is left to the referees. Often, these decisions turned out to be dubious.
In the very first Premier League match of 2020/21, Liverpool were awarded a penalty for handball against Leeds United defender Robin Koch. The ball ricocheted off Koch’s leg before hitting his leg. The penalty was still awarded, and the defending champions went on to win the game.
There was also a lack of consistency. What was deemed a penalty in one game, wasn’t considered in another. One of the worst decisions of 2020/21 was the penalty awarded to Newcastle United due to Eric Dier’s handball. Replays showed some contact, but it wasn’t completely clear. His hands were high only because he was competing with Andy Carroll for the header. Even Newcastle manager Steve Bruce did not agree with the call despite his side getting a valuable point.
There were a number of close offside calls. The hairline decisions drew the ire of fans, and caused players to be ‘afraid of celebrating goals’. The margin by which offside has been called is sometimes ridiculous, with a fraction of a boot or an armpit. VAR is supposed to intervene when the referee has made a ‘clear and obvious’ error. It hasn’t always seemed like that, though. Many decisions, such as the Eric Dier one, cannot be called clear and obvious.
Following the Euro 2020 Example
The refereeing and use of VAR at Euro 2020 has, for the most part, been excellent. Unlike the Premier League, play has not been stopped for long periods while VAR indulged in its ruminations. The use of technology came up in very select cases, and there were hardly any contentious calls, except cases such as Raheem Sterling’s debatable penalty against Denmark.
The Premier League clubs, who have written to Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters, have held that up as an example. Referees are more inclined to play advantage. The original intention of intervening only for a ‘clear and obvious error’ has certainly been on show. A total of 128 goals or incidents were affected by VAR in the 2020/21 Premier League. 42 goals were disallowed, 29 penalties were awarded, and 17 red cards were shown.
The Premier League earlier announced that lines will be made thicker while looking for offside next season. There have also been suggestions to adopt the Eredivisie technique, a football equivalent of cricket’s “umpire’s call”, If the red and blue lines touch, the on-field decision stays.
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