“The VAR is still far from actually making football fairer,” says the Kurier columnist and ex-ÖFB team player.
After the second semi-final, it is important to me to write explicitly about the VAR. Mainly because he's expecting us in the Austrian Bundesliga in the future.
The basic idea of the VAR is definitely a good one, but I find the system still half-baked in some situations. For me it wasn't a penalty for the English, regardless of the fact that they were the better team and deserved the finals. The line of the referee in this game was different, he let some things go, but then fell into the fall of Sterling.
More acceptance
The stipulation is that in such situations the VAR only intervenes if the decision is clearly wrong. Nevertheless, in this delicate situation it would have been good if the referee had looked at the scene again on the screen on the instructions of the VAR. Whatever decision he would have made afterwards, the acceptance of the fans would have been much higher because he would have made a picture for himself beforehand.
After all, the VAR's actions are now displayed in the stadiums so that there is more clarity for the spectators on site.
More routine
Germany's recognized referee Manuel Gräfe said on television that it would have been better to let the situation play on and only then to check. He also advocates that experienced referees, who are no longer allowed to be active due to their age, should be used more at the VAR, because experience is the key to evaluating the images. I see it similarly, because experienced people are good at assessing difficult situations.
The VAR is still far from actually making football fairer. It often looks half-baked and therefore confusing for the consumer. Many people cannot understand some decisions and also do not understand why the VAR intervenes here but not there.
In the end, we all want the VAR to make football fairer. Nevertheless, the system has to become more understandable for the spectators in the stadium and in front of the TV sets. Otherwise, the future will not only discuss false whistles, but also the handling of the video referee. That would be a shame.
