Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has given his verdict on the future of VAR just days after it let down the Magpies once again.
While Eddie Howe’s side were not good enough as they lost 3-2 to Manchester United on Wednesday night, there was some controversy.
Anthony Gordon was denied a blatant penalty in the first half, with Sofyan Amrabat fouling him in the box as he raced through on goal. In real time, it was not quite as clear, as Casemiro was the one to win possession off of Gordon.
But replays showed that the Newcastle United winger had been tripped by Casemiro’s teammate. It was the type of incident that VAR was brought in for, yet it did not intervene.
This stunned Gordon after the game, who questioned what the point of it is.
Why Newcastle United are set to vote on the future of VAR
That is a question that a lot of people are debating, and it will soon be a decision for Premier League clubs to make. Clubs will soon vote over whether or not the Premier League should keep VAR or scrap it, after Wolverhampton Wanderers proposed getting rid of it on Wednesday.
In their statement, Wolves cited nine reasons as to why VAR is negatively impacting the Premier League, such as the impact on goal celebrations and the disruption of the league’s fast pace games. They also pointed towards hostile atmospheres inside stadiums and a lack of accountability for the on-field officials.
It was been reported that clubs are likely to vote in favour of keeping VAR, despite the issues it has caused since its arrival in the England top flight in 2019. Sky Sports claim that Liverpool would be one of the clubs in favour of keeping it, while there is no word on how Newcastle United will vote.
Alan Shearer gives his verdict on the future of VAR
On the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Toon legend Alan Shearer has given his verdict on what the future of VAR in the Premier League should be.
“It’s very difficult to go against any of those points because all of those points have happened and are happening and will continue to happen,” he said.
“My opinion would be that I would still keep VAR but I would have a complete reset and go back to what they told us. How many times have I said it? For the absolute howlers and they are not going to re-referee the game, that’s what I would do it as.”
Newcastle legend Shearer is right
There is surely no way that the Premier League can completely get rid of VAR. It is in too deep now, and they need to find a way to make it work more effectively.
That means making decisions quicker and being more transparent with what they are doing. It is so infuriating to watch a game nowadays and not have a clue what is happening. Your team scores a goal, yet you have to wait minutes to find out whether or not it is going to be allowed. It is sucking the joy out of the game for spectators, with loud groans being heard whenever the VAR graphic pops up on the screen at St James’ Park.
As Newcastle’s all-time leading scorer says, VAR should not be there to re-referee the game. A lot of decisions in football are subjective, which is not what VAR is there for. It should be there for the howlers, like the penalty call that we did not get against Man United.
You have to assume that Robert Jones did not see the contact from Amrabat on Gordon. He must have thought that Casemiro simply won the ball and that was the end of it. That is where VAR should come in and say ‘you have missed something there, take another look’.
If he saw the contact from Amrabat and thought it was not a foul then fair enough. Most will disagree, but at least he has made a decision, albeit an incorrect one. Errors will happen when it comes to officiating. Players make mistakes, and so will referees.
But what is annoying is when VAR is called upon, and a mistake is still made. They look for minute details to disallow goals, which never would have been picked up by the naked eye. That is not what football is about, and changes need to be made.
However, that change is unlikely to be the end of VAR in the Premier League.
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