OFFSET YOUR WORLD CUP TRAVEL WITH GREENERTRAVEL
Date: 22nd April 2024
Let me say at the outset that this is my personal view, not necessarily that of the board of the SFSA. However, I do have (I think) a slight advantage in the great VAR debate in that I spent over a year studying Scotland’s contribution to the laws of the game as part of my research for my book on Scotland’s referees.
Based on that work, one thing became apparent. As one of the permanent members of IFAB, the SFA has had a major influence at times on the way the game is played nowadays. Probably the most significant of these was the Scottish proposal to change offside from three players to two players. This was first made in 1893 but was rejected by IFAB several times. Continued attempts were made by the SFA to get this introduced and, eventually, in 1925, it was, giving us the basis of the offside law we know today. In England, it was noted that this led to a change in the way the game was played, with more use of a long ball forward. This, in turn, led to an increase in the number of goals scored. In 1924-25 (the year prior to its introduction) 4,700 goals were scored in 1848 games in the Football League. The following season, this increased to 6,373 from the same number of games.
The laws of football have constantly changed, but at heart (in theory at least) remain simple: 17 laws (plus the savvy referee’s 18th law – “always use your common sense”). However, as we’ve seen in recent years, the desire to meddle has led to the incomprehensible handball law. Under the new regulations, we have the oxymoron that the only “natural” position for a defending player to hold his arms is with his hands behind his body so as not to “make the body bigger” – clearly an unnatural position. When the governing body of the laws of our game and those who influence them (FIFA, Arsene Wenger, etc.) can’t see the complete contradiction that lies at the heart of the handball rule for penalties then they are, to employ the vernacular, complete ********.
Now we have Nottingham Forest effectively/seemingly accusing the Premier League refs of a lack of integrity over VAR. They (and other clubs) claim they have been disproportionately affected by wrong VAR decisions. At some stage, it may end in court.
North of the border, there is considerable debate over whether Aberdeen should have had a penalty in the Scottish Cup semi-final last weekend. We see really controversial decisions several times a month in Scotland, some given, some not and some totally ignored, to the bemusement and anger of the fans. Some sections of the media love it and stoke the fires as hard as they can, despite the fact that none of those with the pokers actually know all the laws and, I understand, have at times consulted former officials for advice before they appear on TV to “analyse” the decisions. However, even some of the media now concede that VAR is ruining our game.
Then the football authorities tell us that there are actually only a very small number of mistakes made by VAR, despite the fact that they simply do not include errors which they themselves have admitted (for example, they did not include St Johnstone captain Liam Gordon’s red card, given by VAR but subsequently rescinded on appeal). The whole system is a mess and it’s time we got rid of it until the technology works (virtually) flawlessly. The problem is that the SFA and the SPFL have their heads in the sand and will not accede to their customers’ (us, the fans) wishes. Surveys across the UK and beyond show that fans hate VAR, we hate the way it sucks the joy out of the game, we hate the fact that we pay our good money to celebrate goals but there is no point now because we don’t know if they will be disallowed on a technicality. I sympathise with referees, because they will lose some income and also the chance to work on European matches if we get rid of VAR in Scotland, but someone has to cut the Gordian knot. I believe that many of our Premiership clubs, while outwardly toeing the SFA line, would actually welcome the removal of VAR because it would free up at least £100K which could be better spent on players and development.
How do we get rid of it? Well, I think there is only one way (unless the SFA have a change of heart and make a proposal to IFAB – and pigs might fly). If fans from every Premiership club email their CEOs/Chairmen in droves, telling them they want rid of it – or better still refused to buy their season tickets – it would be gone very quickly. But, and we all know this, that won’t happen – unless you can demonstrate otherwise…?
Alastair Blair, Director of Operations, SFSA
Posted in: Latest News
Tags: #VAR