VAR continues to stir debate among football followers six years after its implementation at the 2018 World Cup.
Alan Shearer says football fans are “stuck” with VAR, tearing into the contentious system.
VAR, which was first introduced to the public in 2018, was the result of years of referee discussion. Calls to follow other sports increased following Frank Lampard’s “ghost goal” for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup.
Goal-line technology was the first move toward an equipment-driven game before VAR, which assesses everything from red cards, penalties, to offsides, became the norm less than ten years later. However, the system has been anything from a resounding success.
Nearly five years after its introduction to the Premier League, debates regarding the program continue to plague post-match discussions. A BBC poll conducted last summer indicated that 63% of supporters were completely opposed to the technology.
Shearer, a Newcastle United legend, believes VAR will remain due to the sums invested by football officials, who have also faced criticism. His comments follow further controversy following Arsenal’s Champions League stalemate with Bayern Munich.
“We’re stuck with it (VAR),” said Shearer on The Rest Is Football podcast. “We’ve put too much in it. I know it hasn’t functioned as well as it should have, and it hasn’t been used as we were instructed.
“The lawmakers are half of the problem. They make things so complex. It’s always difficult for referees, but with these insane, outrageous, and over-the-top laws, it’s even more difficult.
“The last thing I’ll say about this is that, going back four years or so, we wanted it (VAR) in the format they specified. They said they would not re-referee the games.
“This is clearly happening in every single game. It was just for the ‘clear and obvious’, which is patently false. They are re-refereeing, and the rulings they are overturning are not plain or obvious. That is what they told us, but it is not occurring.
They referenced Thierry Henry’s 2009 handball against the Republic of Ireland as an example.
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