Episode 5 - VAR 

Welcome to the 5th episode of the Line Up Podcast. If you are joining us today for the first time here on Anchor Fm, we are a talkshow that's dedicated on tackling a wide array of issues on matters football.

In November 2018, Football Heads congregated somewhere in a Boardroom, discussed amongst themselves and saw it fit to introduce "Video Assistant Referee" - a decision that changed football (whether it was for the good or bad, we'll let you decide for yourself😉)

As is the case with every new cutting technology, VAR wasn't devoid of challenges during its inception. For instance, during a certain fixture in the 2019 Women World Cup, there was an incident that was reviewed for 29 times, eating up 4 and a half minutes before a decision was arrived at. 

Fast forward to the 2020/21 EPL Season - There have been a few tweaks to VAR to improve its overall efficiency. 

- Each match has one Chief VAR referee, an assitant VAR official and an extra official who provides replay footages to the Chief VAR. The Assistant watches the live action as VAR watches replays. Only the Chief VAR can make a call. They don't consult their assistants. However, the final decision lies with the on-field referee

- 2020/21 VAR protocols does not allow for tolerance levels. If keeper saves a penalty and he happens to have one foot was over the line, VAR will advise that it is retaken (The De Gea vs Ayew Incident ). If the ball hits a post or goes over the bar while keeper's foot is on the line, it wouldn't be retaken unless "keeper had a material impact on the kick being missed" (Whatever that even means!😁)

- If an encroaching attacker or defender is suspected to be encroaching, they will be penalized if they impact the rebound by scoring or clearing the ball. Goal will be disallowed by VAR if it scored from a rebound while it will be retaken if it is cleared by the defender at fault. 

- On field Refs are required to use pitch side monitors more regularly than rely on voice from Stockley Park (the VAR HQ in the UK). There will be no raising of the offside flag by assistant referees until the passage of play is concluded. If offside is suspected the ref will raise a flag and VAR will confirm. 

Fun Fact: ManUtd and Liverpool are the only stadiums in UK that don't have a big screen - VAR messages are relayed over the tannoy and the electronic scoreboards. 

Join our hosts as they debunk VAR in light of the events that happened during MatchDay 2. Enjoy.