There are very few positives that will come out of the Covid-19 situation around football, with Premier League games set to restart in front of empty grounds.
It did sound like we might at least get the possibility of games without VAR, as it doesn’t sound like a great idea to cram referees into a small room as the deliberate on ways to ruin a game.
FIFA has even offered leagues the chance to scrap it when they re-start, but it sounds like the Premier League are sticking to their guns:
FIFA has given leagues the option of scrapping VAR when seasons restart but the Premier League wants to keep it.
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 3, 2020
It promised to remove controversy from football by intervening in obvious situations to stop injustices, but the reality is the opposite.
Refs look scared to make any choices on the field and they know they have VAR to fall back on, yet the VAR officials seem to be even more scared of making a correct decision.
We’ve been treated to minutes of lines being drawn on a screen to establish an offside or even the same image being rocked back and forward to see if the ball perhaps touched the same air particles as an attacker’s hands in the build up to the goal.
It’s clear that VAR has been a disaster in the league and it’s negatively impacted the experience as a fan, but it’s still here to stay.