Will be an issue again this season. As said in the round these anyone but victory and that’s a horrible call
Referees make mistakes, it is part of the game. All that VAR does is to draw more attention to those mistakes and in the Aleague amplify, add to, and draw more attention to them and the plain incompetence of the officials.
FFS leave it on the pitch.
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I just don’t understand with the evidence on hand, how referees can still make massive errors like that. I’d be absolutely filthy if we conceded a penalty in the same situation and the Victory fans will be absolutely filthy over this decision tonight.
Mistakes happen. Making mistakes that are avoidable like this one is completely unacceptable.
100% pen.
No way it was a pen. Should have been overturned and that dirty prick fornaroli booked for diving.
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VAR struggles with finding diving, happened during the world cup too.
Did they over-use the slow motion this time? That was my main gripe from last season.
They were only asked to determine the location of the foul, not whether it happened or not.
Another very soft or dodgy peno thru VAR in the Wellington game.
VAR was not at fault in any of the decisions and actually worked the way it should. It’s the referee who has made any error.
Last night, it would be interesting to hear whether Kurt Ams considered reviewing the foul or just the location. If it is just the latter then he has incorrectly applied the technology and should not be considered for further appointments until additional training is conducted. If he did then he backed his original call which I have no issue with under the clear and obvious error guideline (there was contact albeit Fornaroli was looking for it), it’s just a very soft penalty.
The Wellington one was soft but it’s not the first time a penalty has been awarded on review in that situation.
The biggest concern that I have is that we experienced the exact same issues last season. It’s almost as if the referees feel as though they have to change the decision when they review it. If they had left the decisions as they were then it would be no less controversial but there would be less discussion around it.
Last night: FK outside of the box - insufficient evidence to overturn decision (parallax).
Today: No pen, play on - not clear & obvious.
Explaining it the other way is where the problems are coming from.
I think it should just be used for the howler. All of these decisions that are being overturned on review are really very close - the kind of things you’d expect to get wrong in real time.
I mean we’re taking about the impact of a parralax effect on a still image, here…
It’s just being way way WAY over used.
Yeah I’ve been against VAR from the start, and nothing I’ve seen since (including the world cup) has convinced me that it ‘improves’ the game. Get rid of it.
I think the situation is making the VAR look bad because the quality of refereeing has deteriorated so badly. Some of the Chris Beath decisions (including the Brisbane penalty overturned by VAR) were just plain bizarre.
What would also be helpful is if the referee’s boss could come out and give us a VAR101 to understand what are the parameters that they can rule on. There is way too much confusion out there. This tutorial should lead to weekly press conferences where decisions over the weekend can be explained from a referee’s point of view. This only needs to be happen for a couple of months.
Greater transparency and honesty would help overcome all the confusion.
The AFL did this where the Match Review Commissioner(?) would hold a press conference on the Monday or Tuesday and explain how they reached a decision in regards to a player being suspended. I see no reason why Ben Wilson should not do the same. Explain the decision and say if the referee got it right or wrong. Just because a referee makes a mistake it shouldn’t mean he is dropped for the following week, it just shows accountability. Does it change the result, no but it will increase consistency or highlight a lack thereof which can then be used for further training of the match officials.
As for the Brisbane no penalty call yesterday, it’s one of the few occasions where VAR can overrule the onfield referee (offside). The actual foul for the penalty was never reviewed as there was an offside in the build up. If there was no offside then Chris Beath would’ve had to go and review his decision and we all know he isn’t going to say he was incorrect in the initial decision, he even made an action to indicate he called Rowles for a shove in the back.
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It is still taking too long, and is still not getting the correct decisions.
Fox does not help with their incorrectly placed yellow line for offsides.
I would much rather put up with the refs making the odd mistake as being part of the game and getting on with it.
FIFA could rewrite the rules so that it could be like the LBW rule in cricket which States "If in the umpire’s opinion… "
ie If in the refs opinion someone is offside then he is, by definition.
There will still be arguments and discussions but the refs will always be right.
They would then have to re-write the offside rule in regards to VAR. If the player is called offside then the decision can’t be changed. It is why AR’s are instructed to not raise their flag and also why the Kalifa Cisse goal (I swear he was onside, the other CCM player was off but not interfering?) could not be reviewed.
I guess they could introduce the soft signal but then it would bring confusion as the AR never raised their flag in the first place and could be seen as the officials hedging their bets.
Funnily enough getting the correct decision on offside, GF debacle aside, is the one area where VAR is getting it right. The 2 calls yesterday were spot on.
The linespan could raise his flag but the ref let the play continue (as per an advantage). If the chance is cleared, then all good and we’ve hit reset; if it goes in, then the ref could listen to the lino’s call. This would mitigate against problems with the VAR. It could also replace the VAR, but let’s face it kids - it’s never going away, until it’s merged with refs in “ROBOT_REF_2000” with his drone assistants.
VAR was always a good idea when it was purely goal line technology.
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The AR is then out of position for any subsequent play. I think the game is too quick for a “flag, acknowledge, play on, review” kind of scenario.
I’m actually happy with the no call then review as the advantage should go to the attacking side. The VAR feed should be relayed to the tv coverage though to eliminate the Fox yellow line/official footage discrepancy.
The Italians have got it pretty well spot on in Serie A. There was a great implementation in the Frosinone game last night and I have seen instances this season where the referee has backed his original decision in situations similar to the Fornaroli incident. We don’t seem to be able to match that here which comes down to inadequate training of the people using it.
FWIW I think the bunker idea with Craig Zetter and Kris Griffiths-Jones being the sole VAR officials this season is a big step forward and why none of the issues that have arisen this season are a failure of VAR. As Archie said last night, it’s human failure, not a failure of the technology. Bozza’s rant however was completely wide of the mark.
I’ve always been anti-VAR, decisions balance out over time (Fornaroli v GF Goal), but after the WC and the input it had over round 1, with correct training of the officials, I can see it’s place in the game. Will I ever come around to fully accepting in though, absolutely not.