VAR changes

[originaltrueblade]

New VAR rules worth reading through....compiled this so we have a reference to the changes


Referee Review Area

In 2019/20 there was an outcry from supporters and the media for referees to consult the on-field monitors.

However, Mike Riley, leader of the Premier League's PGMOL group, was against the use of the monitors and it wasn't until January, in the FA Cup, that they were first used in England.

Across Europe and in the Champions League the on-field monitors have been used to great effect and referees will now consult the monitors on a more frequent basis for subjective decisions, such as goals, red cards and penalty kicks.


Goalkeeper encroachment on penalty kicks

From next season, there will be no tolerance on goalkeeper encroachment from penalty kicks which will inevitably result in more retakes.

If a goalkeeper saves from 12 yards but has stepped off their goal line before the shot, VAR will order a retake of the penalty.

This will not apply if the penalty is missed without the interference of the goalkeeper; EG, the ball is hit over the bar.


Player encroachment on penalty kicks

Similarly, there will be no tolerance for player encroachment.

So, if any part of the player’s body that is on the ground is inside the penalty area when the ball is kicked then the penalty will be retaken.

However, as with goalkeepers, this will only apply if the player that has encroached is directly involved in the aftermath of the penalty.

Keeping the flag down for tight marginal offside offences

Assistant Referees will be asked to keep their flag down for any goalscoring chances, to prevent any incorrect offside calls.

Unlike this season, where players have been told to ignore the flag and play to the whistle, Assistant Referees will not raise their flag and VAR will review any marginal offside decision to ensure the correct outcome is reached.

Offsides

There will be no change to the offside rules and no tolerance levels will be allowed.

Although, on tight calls, fans watching the game on the TV will be able to see if a player is on or offside via the colours of the lines shown.

Should a player be onside, the line will turn green, or will alternatively turn red if a player is offside.

 

[originaltrueblade]

With the linesman’s flag now staying down it will interesting as VAR will only look at it for a pen or a goal...so theoretically striker could be offside and still wins a corner and from the resulting corner a goal mmmmm as VAR won’t go back after a corner is awarded or will it....still a fucking farce

 

[gordoncharles]

New VAR rules worth reading through....compiled this so we have a reference to the changes


Referee Review Area

In 2019/20 there was an outcry from supporters and the media for referees to consult the on-field monitors.

However, Mike Riley, leader of the Premier League's PGMOL group, was against the use of the monitors and it wasn't until January, in the FA Cup, that they were first used in England.

Across Europe and in the Champions League the on-field monitors have been used to great effect and referees will now consult the monitors on a more frequent basis for subjective decisions, such as goals, red cards and penalty kicks.

This is just a way of wasting even more time on inevitable decision reversals.

The safest prediction I will make this season is that 99% of referrals to the monitor will go with whatever the VAR decided.

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

Gradual take-over by VAR of the responsibilities of the pitch officials. Thin end of the wedge IMO. Football might as well go fully digital now using holographic players in a 3D screen

 

[ElephantBlade]

Most of that sounds awful.

 

[Grecian2000]

Got "not fit for purpose" written all over it again I'm afraid.

 

[PokerBlade]

"We've listened to fans but decided to largely ignore them. Fuck you, you'll pay to watch it anyway."

The only thing I liked about that was that they'll look at keepers on penalties. That's one of the few things that is both very difficult for referees and can be done quickly and accurately by VAR, and yet they baffled me by deciding not to use it last season.

Otherwise it's just going to be more of the same.

 

[bartman]

There should be a time limit for a decision to be made for offside calls ( max 30 seconds ?). If it is not clear and obvious after that period of time it stays with the original decision.
The handball rule from last year wasn't ideal but at least the rule was clear and easy to interpret. I'm not sure whether the Snodgrass rule would have stood under the new rule as the had ball was by the player making the pass for the goal

 

[Grecian2000]

It still fails to address the things it should be addressing in favour of ridiculous pedantry.

My biggest bug bears have never been accidental hand balls or micro offside decisions, but the scoring of goals from wrongly awarded corners and free kicks, and players going down and "earning" penalties. They don't even try to redress the real wrongs in the game.

 

[PokerBlade]

It still fails to address the things it should be addressing in favour of ridiculous pedantry.

My biggest bug bears have never been accidental hand balls or micro offside decisions, but the scoring of goals from wrongly awarded corners and free kicks, and players going down and "earning" penalties. They don't even try to redress the real wrongs in the game.

I've been saying this for a while. A lot of the decisions that we talk about in football are debated for ages on forums and TV with the benefit of stills and every angle and a lot of the time we still can't agree. Why anyone ever thought VAR would be able to clear them up quickly and without controversy I will never know.

The question is this, does anyone think that we've had fewer controversial decisions since VAR? Anyone? And as an aside, does anyone think VAR has made football better to watch?

Meanwhile, there are things that fans would largely agree upon, like the horrible and petty time wasting offences that could easily be fixed are completely ignored yet again. No indication that we'll do anything to try and raise referee standards. Nope, just the promise that Tierney will magically make better decisions reviewing a monitor at pitch side rather than at Stockley Park.

 

[YES Blade]

It still fails to address the things it should be addressing in favour of ridiculous pedantry.

My biggest bug bears have never been accidental hand balls or micro offside decisions, but the scoring of goals from wrongly awarded corners and free kicks, and players going down and "earning" penalties. They don't even try to redress the real wrongs in the game.

Surely penalties will be part of the ref using the monitor? E.g. Ref gives a pen and VAR says it looks like a dive and it's reviewed by the ref on the pitch.

You're always going to get dodgy decisions when humans are making the decisions, that's the case with or without VAR, but hopefully we should get a few less using VAR. Hopefully now we're into the second season, we should at least start to see some improvements.

 

[BornOnShorehamStreet]

I've been saying this for a while. A lot of the decisions that we talk about in football are debated for ages on forums and TV with the benefit of stills and every angle and a lot of the time we still can't agree. Why anyone ever thought VAR would be able to clear them up quickly and without controversy I will never know.

The question is this, does anyone think that we've had fewer controversial decisions since VAR? Anyone? And as an aside, does anyone think VAR has made football better to watch?

Meanwhile, there are things that fans would largely agree upon, like the horrible and petty time wasting offences that could easily be fixed are completely ignored yet again. No indication that we'll do anything to try and raise referee standards. Nope, just the promise that Tierney will magically make better decisions reviewing a monitor at pitch side rather than at Stockley Park.

Exactly. Mind you can you imagine how long they'd take to decide if the leg was left trailing or not or if the fall was fake? Ought to do it retrospectively and wipe cheating out of the game altogether. Might make the rest of the VAR crap palatable

 

[YES Blade]

There should be a time limit for a decision to be made for offside calls ( max 30 seconds ?). If it is not clear and obvious after that period of time it stays with the original decision.
The handball rule from last year wasn't ideal but at least the rule was clear and easy to interpret. I'm not sure whether the Snodgrass rule would have stood under the new rule as the had ball was by the player making the pass for the goal

The problem with time limits is that it will cause more controversy. You'll get comments like "He made that decision quickly because it was Man U and he couldn't wait to give the goal" or "He took his time with that cause he didn't want to give a penalty against Man U and let the clock run out".

I'd just stop the clock for VAR and let them take their time (within reason) then it's fair for everyone.

 

[PokerBlade]

Exactly. Mind you can you imagine how long they'd take to decide if the leg was left trailing or not or if the fall was fake? Ought to do it retrospectively and wipe cheating out of the game altogether. Might make the rest of the VAR crap palatable

Thing is, we all know what a fine line there is between drawing a foul and taking a dive. If I leave my leg trailing and you hit it, that's a foul. Some of those decisions are going to be really tough. But to me those decisions are the exceptions. Like the fractional offsides. It's never been the case that fans were raging because someone was 8cm off, it's been where a player's yards off and a linesman hasn't caught it. Similar for the handball rule. It's never been much of a problem that the ball hits a striker's arm and we struggle much over whether it's deliberate, it's always been the Suarez and Henry incidents where a player blatantly handballs it but the ref doesn't see it. The rule change didn't make it better.

For me football ought to look at the small offences that happen ALL THE TIME. It does my head in that a team wins a free kick, first opposition picks up the ball, runs ten yards, throws it back five, second opposition player runs over the ball as if he's going to return it but then runs past it, third opposition player picks up the ball, throws it ten yards in the air so it takes a couple of seconds to get to the kick taker, fourth player innocently runs in front of the kick taker to delay him a bit more, fifth player then rolls the ball back a yard claiming it's in the wrong spot, and ref gives them a look of exasperation as punishment. Alright, maybe not all at once, but expect to see those utterly irritating time wasting tactics in every single Prem game this season. For some reason in football the convention is that you can use blatant time wasting as much as you want so long as you don't really, really, take the piss all at once.

 

[Digs blade]

The penalty encroachment concerns me with the any part of the body in the area comment.

This will be as bad as last seasons offsides with silly lines drawn to check whether a knee cap or a toe nail have gained a “significant advantage” by being a quarter or an inch in front of everyone else.

 

[Bladesman]

The penalty encroachment concerns me with the any part of the body in the area comment.

This will be as bad as last seasons offsides with silly lines drawn to check whether a knee cap or a toe nail have gained a “significant advantage” by being a quarter or an inch in front of everyone else.

Lunny's big toe was encroaching in the penalty box. Re-take the penalty.

 

[bartman]

The penalty encroachment concerns me with the any part of the body in the area comment.

This will be as bad as last seasons offsides with silly lines drawn to check whether a knee cap or a toe nail have gained a “significant advantage” by being a quarter or an inch in front of everyone else.

In fairness I think the keeper off the line scenario is quite simple. For instance Henderson's penalty save against ManCity would be, correctly, retaken. For encroachment by players, it will only come into effect if a penalty is saved or hits the woodwork and come back into play. If the player's foot is over the line when the penalty is taken he knows there is a risk

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

And for all that technology the final word will still be down to a little guy sat in a little room in little old London.
I can't get my breath......

 

[Dullblade]

We also not gonna comment on var being used to double check things... things like oh I don't know, Hawkeye not being switched on?

 

[Mojo]

That offside rule is the biggest load of bollocks anyone has come up with and is not in the spirit of the game. Marginal decisions should go in favour of the attacking team, not the defending team. People would rather see goals!!

My proposal would be keep the current system but extend the width of the lines they currently draw x 3. If the lines are touching at all then it is onside. Would be a million times better than the current system.

 

[JohnDenver]

And as an aside, does anyone think VAR has made football better to watch?

That “aside“ should be front and centre with fairy lights on.

 

[JohnDenver]

Lunny's big toe was encroaching in the penalty box. Re-take the penalty.

Or was it an artefact in the image rendering?

I can hardly wait....

 

[Trafford]

So, if any part of the player’s body that is on the ground is inside the penalty area when the ball is kicked then the penalty will be retaken.

‘that is on the ground’ - surely this can only mean feet? If so, they should apply the same rule for offsides, it would be fairer and easier to regulate.

 

[SK10Blade]

In cricket, each team has two chances to refer a decision to technology, makes me wonder if a similar system could work in football and stop the constant referals.

 

[HVR]

Regarding penalties. A player can dive and slide into the area and take so long for the "rollover" combination that by the time he's finished, the ref may have already blown for a penalty.
It's a neat trick that I see more and more happening in the game; don't appeal, don't look at the ref, and hope that by the time you've got back up on one knee a penalty has been awarded.
Even if it was a blatant dive, even if he tripped over his laces or slipped, you can't blame a player who was summersaulting in mid-air, for a penalty awarded, before he even hit the ground and rolled into the advertising hoardings.
In the case of no penalty - and the player didn't appeal for it anyway - we usually play on.
I've often thought that in these cases, a penalty can only be awarded if the player actually appeals for it. Then the onus is on the player himself - you appeal, it's shown you've flung yourself on the ground unchallenged, yellow card.

 

[Goodpinchofclough]

Please get added- foul throws, Goalkeeper 6 second rule, and taking corners from outside the arc
As ive lost count of the number of these the referees and assistants have missed over the last few years.

 

[JJBlade]

When they devise a way that us, Wolves, Burnley, West Brom and all those other horrible non Southern clubs don't get fucked over constantly, and if they can devise a way that Man Utd don't get 20+ penalties a season, then we will know they are on the right track.
But guess what ?
It won't happen

 

[BettingBlade]

Please get added- foul throws, Goalkeeper 6 second rule, and taking corners from outside the arc
As ive lost count of the number of these the referees and assistants have missed over the last few years.

The actual rule for corners is that the ball only has to be overshadowing the quadrant. Sounds crackers but thats the law, I reckon a lot of the time when people are moaning at it, there's nothing against the laws of the game actually happening. I agree about the other stuff though and you can add time wasting and diving to that list.

As for the rest of the changes, there's nothing in there to suggest to me that anything will change. On the evidence of last season, there was real justification to make wholesale changes to the ways VAR is used in the game. It's also highlighted a number of laws that need to be adjusted in order for the referee and the Video Assistant to help them work better together. These changes don't really do any of that; stupid amounts of playing time will still be lost, decisions still look as though they will be taken out of the referees hands and offsides and the other marginal decisions will still be just as much of a farce as they already have been.

 

[YES Blade]

That offside rule is the biggest load of bollocks anyone has come up with and is not in the spirit of the game. Marginal decisions should go in favour of the attacking team, not the defending team. People would rather see goals!!

My proposal would be keep the current system but extend the width of the lines they currently draw x 3. If the lines are touching at all then it is onside. Would be a million times better than the current system.

The problem is there will always be times when it's a marginal offside, under your plan you could still have an attacker who is only 1mm offside. However it is done, there will always be an incident where a player is only slightly off. People just need to get their head around the fact there is a definitive line where it can be a matter of millimetres where a player is off or on.

It’s like the ball being over the line, it’s either over or not. We don’t say, well it was only 1mm short so lets give the goal or it was only over by 1mm so let’s not give that one.

 

[BettingBlade]

The problem is there will always be times when it's a marginal offside, under your plan you could still have an attacker who is only 1mm offside. However it is done, there will always be an incident where a player is only slightly off. People just need to get their head around the fact there is a definitive line where it can be a matter of millimetres where a player is off or on.

It’s like the ball being over the line, it’s either over or not. We don’t say, well it was only 1mm short so lets give the goal or it was only over by 1mm so let’s not give that one.

The problem with the offsides is that the frame rate of the cameras doesn't refresh quick enough to be able to see something that tight. Just look at the shape of the ball on some of the frames they've used to call someone offside, it's oval shaped. If a margin of error was brought in there would still be tight calls but it would be the difference between being definitely offside and undeterminable. An undeterminable decision could then be decided by an 'Umpire's Call' type decision or the advantage could be given to the attacking team to avoid any inconsistencies.

Hawkeye is different, mainly because the cameras are more precise, although there is still a margin for error. It's also far easier to differentiate as the goal line doesn't move therefore the position of the ball is the only real variable in that scenario.