Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has now shared his thoughts on VAR and how it has affected football.
The Australian manager revealed that the constant interference of video-assisted refereeing has slowed down the pace of the game and diminished the authority of the referee.
The Tottenham manager revealed that he is ready to accept the decision of a referee whether it goes his way or against him during games because he wants the match to be played with a certain flow.
Instead, the introduction of VAR has turned games into a stop–start affair and the decisions of the officials are constantly being scrutinised and questioned. The Tottenham manager is clearly not sold on the idea of VAR, but he believes that the game is headed in that way, and there will be more forensic scrutinising into decisions in the coming years as well.
He said on Sky Sports: “No, but I think it’s going to become the norm. It’s where the game is heading.
“I think it’s unfortunately how we’re going to have to watch and participate in football from now on. I’ve said it before that I don’t like it. I don’t like standing around, I don’t like the theatre around waiting for decisions.
“But I know that I’m in the wilderness on that. In my 26 years [as a manager], I was always ready to accept the referee’s decision good, bad or otherwise. I’ve had some shockers in my career let me tell you, and I’ve had some go my way as well.
“But I’d cop that because I just wanted the game to be played. But when we’re complaining about decisions every week, this is what’s going to happen. People are just going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure they’re comfortable it’s right, and then even after that, we’re still not happy.”
Several Premier League league managers of questioned the effectiveness of VAR since its introduction. While the technology at their disposal should make life easier for the officials, things have not quite been that way.
Despite the presence of VAR, there have been controversial decisions in the Premier League, and there have been calls for the video-assisted refereeing system to be scrapped as well.
Recently, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also launched a furious attack on the officials and the VAR system after his team’s defeat against Newcastle United in the Premier League.
