OK. Stop the clocks. Stop everything. Something has to be done. This cannot go on.
No, I’m not talking about the great British tradition of complaining about the weather, but the scourge of modern-day football — the absurd amount of time it now takes to make the simplest decision.
During the midweek Carabao Cup semi-final first leg there was a Manchester City goal at Newcastle United and it was referred to VAR.
Many fans in the crowd at St James’ Park had gone grey and collected their pensions by the time the referee disallowed the ‘goal’.
From the ball hitting the back of the net, to the decision being taken via VAR, was five minutes and 40 seconds.
Supporters on both sides vented their fury and I can see why.
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We were told a long time ago that VAR would be speeded up so these interminable delays would no longer be happening and guess what? Absolutely nothing appears to have changed.
Arsene Wenger, Fifa’s global football development chief, has now tabled a motion which will be discussed next week by the game’s rule makers, the International Football Association Board. At its heart is a simple plea: clarity.
To be specific, Wenger’s proposal is that there must be daylight between players for offside to be given, or as he put it: “If any part of your body is on the same line as the defender, you are NOT offside.”
The theory is this should do away with the microscopic infringements which have caused fans to question their sanity, as well as their enjoyment of football.
Obviously, every decision has to have a ‘line’ somewhere and you could argue that this is just moving the goalposts, excuse the pun. But Wenger’s idea seems a solid one.
The concept of visible separation, of actual daylight between players, is something supporters can understand, and crucially could help end these ridiculous delays over a matter of millimetres. VAR has its supporters and detractors, but one thing we are all agreed on is that fans cannot be waiting nearly six minutes for a decision to be taken.
Football is an emotional flowing game, not a courtroom drama, so it either needs to be fixed or scrapped.
We have heard it all before about how VAR is still in its embryonic stage and things would improve.
Referees’ boss Howard Webb has been saying that for ages, ever since it was first introduced to the Premier League . . . in 2019!
It is now six years later and still we are being served up absurd scenarios like the one we witnessed with the disallowed goal from City’s new boy Antoine Semenyo.
Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) was hailed as the saviour of VAR, but that has created more confusion.
At St James’ Park, because the players were too close to each other, SAOT didn’t work at all.
That meant the old-fashioned method — lines being drawn manually — was wheeled out instead, and half a lifetime later, we finally got the decision.
Wenger’s proposal, requiring a clear gap between the attacker and defender, appears sensible enough.
Anything that restores common sense and speeds the game up has to be worth serious consideration.
I know a lot of fans loved watching the FA Cup third round without VAR, but that is another debate altogether. And let’s be honest, VAR is probably not going away, no matter how loudly everyone complains.
While I don’t support everything Wenger has suggested over his post-Arsenal role at Fifa, this particular idea seems to have legs.
Or arms. Or shoulders. Or any part of the body which means there is daylight between the attacker and defender.
If Wenger’s law is approved, let’s hope we can all get back to enjoying football instead of staring at referees drawing lines on a screen.
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