Controversy of Technology in Football: Critical Analysis of Virtual Assisted Referee

Today I will be talking about how Virtual Assisted Referee (VAR) may have changed the footballing world for good. As many people are aware Technology is finding just about every way of fitting into our everyday lives. It is one of the biggest advancements of the 21st Century and it is continuously evolving and developing. Whatever sci-fi predicted is becoming reality and it’s exhilarating to see the technological revolution continuing. VAR was first introduced during the 2018 FIFA World Cup and was being used to help make decisions during games. How would you feel about this sudden change to what’s been the same for many years?

It’s no surprise that VAR has caused debate following the controversy that surrounded it in the English FA Cup and the Bundesliga. But although VAR receives huge attention, we should not forget that it is the most visible example of technology in football. FIFA stated that this kind of technology is used to improve performance and decision-making in all football games. Being the second big technological advancement in recent years, the first being goal-line technology but we will discuss that later, its leading many people to fear that the game is changing too fast and leaving fans behind.

In 2019, VAR was introduced into the FA Cup for the first time. It was quickly blamed for ruining “the beautiful game”, by players and managers alike. Specific matches, especially between Tottenham and Rochdale in the FA Cup quarter-final, caused a particular fire after a Tottenham goal was reversed by VAR for unclear reasons. As expected the players and coaches of Tottenham felt victimised by this. However, you have to think about how Tottenhams coaches and players would react if the goal had been taken away from the opposition.

Is VAR fair or are club officials playing the victim card where and when it suits them? I think that is absolutely the case. Without a doubt, VAR has changed the game drastically, but it’s for the better. With the new technology in place, it ensures matches are won by the better team whilst before questionable refereeing and unexperienced 4th officials would change results drastically. In other words, this can be classified as cheating and how it’s been going on for so long baffles me and many others. Many teams used to rely on officials making wrong decisions, sometimes to win the game. In my opinion, this is disgraceful to football and not what the sport is about.

As mentioned earlier, Goal Line Technology was the first major technological advancement in football. Unsurprisingly this didn’t face backlash from club officials, I feel this is because there is no if buts or maybes surrounding the fact if the ball has crossed the line or not. Goal Line Technology’s first use was in the 2014 FIFA World Cup where it was used to give a goal that was at first ruled not in by the referee. This instantly told many people that this was a necessary feature of football. However, I do believe this should’ve been implemented far sooner. A similar technology called Hawk-Eye Technology has been used in all Tennis competitions since 2006 to confirm whether the tennis ball has gone in or indeed out of the court. Goal Line Technology could’ve been put in place a lot sooner. If this was achieved, many game outcomes would’ve ended differently. One example would’ve been if Frank Lampard’s goal was awarded after crossing the line in the 2010 World Cup, England would’ve taken the trophy home.

However much current technology in football would’ve changed the past, the club officials need to take into consideration the changes the technology will make in the future. All this technology is helping make the game fair, so at the end of the day, I’m not sure why fans and players feel targeted by it as it is only ensuring the correct team receive the correct decisions. In an official Sky Sports survey in early February 2020, a reported 67% of fans say the Virtual Assisted Referee (VAR) makes the game less enjoyable. I can see their view on how the game can be less entertaining but personally, I think the correct decisions being made is far more important.

In conclusion, I feel technology in football is revolutionary advancement of the sport. I do also strongly believe it benefits the future of the sport hugely, it ensures no incorrect decisions can be made from the 4th officials during the match. Also in this day and age for sports to have access to the most advanced pieces of technology I feel it would be a waste not to use it. Although It still has a long way before this technology is embedded in every football game. However, any sensible person will agree that like everything in our world, life is continuously evolving and developing. We can either chose to be a part of it and develop alongside it or resist it and get left behind. I know which I would rather, I’m sure you do too. Thanks for listening, are there any questions?