The introduction of VAR will help Premier League teams like Southampton

The introduction Of the Video Assistant Referee to the Premier League is just months away, and yet the media and fans alike continue to incorrectly bemoan its existence.

From the denial of Manolo Gabbiadini’s Wembley hat- trick to a blatant Abdoulaye Doucoure handball Southampton have several reasons to be happy about the introduction of the VAR.

Regrettably, others have not been so keen and more high-profile incidents have apparently done nothing to dissuade them. Scotland were denied a historic last 16 clash in the women’s World Cup after being pegged back by a VAR given penalty.

To compound the Tartan Army’s misery the VAR then overruled the subsequent spot kick save and order to retake which was converted. Predictably the twitter complaints began. Quoted by The Scottish Sun former Dundee United midfielder Fraser Fyvie whined “VAR HAS TO GO!! Destroying the game!”.

The same article cited similar misgivings from Rangers’ Jamie Murphy and Celtic’s Ryan Christie. While the former stated “Never seen anything like it. Taking VAR too far now. GK was hardly off the line!..” While the latter said “VAR is an absolute shambles, what a way to ruin football…”.

Similarly, The Sun also published a bitter article as England’s men were denied a late winner against the Netherlands. Author of the piece Dave Kidd complained that: “This is not the correction of clear and obvious errors, it is nit-picking and is already a blight on the game.”.

What these protests fail to fully appreciate is that the technology was spot on. The Scot keeper gained an unfair advantage by jumping off the line early, while Raheem Sterling was offside.

Football may be known for its technical maestros, it’s tactical geniuses, and it’s overflowing passion, but it is founded on laws. The rules are not only there to bring structure to the game we love, but also to make it a level playing field for all.

Whether a European giant like Liverpool, an English champion like Manchester city or aside scrapping for survival like Saints, offside is still offside, and handball is still handball. The introduction of VAR is intended to ensure that while the best prevail, fairness and consistency are maintained.

A study conducted by the International Football Association Board vindicates the system success. Reported by BBC Sport, the tech is set to be “98.8%” accurate across “804 competitive matches in more than 20 competitions.”

Referees are often maligned for consistently making poor decisions, but favourable statistics from the Professional Game Match Officials and cited by Sky Sports suggest that they are pretty good in their own right. The PGMO suggests that one of their members will on average make around “245” decisions during a game, with just “five” being incorrect.

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What these don’t account for is the significance of the decision being made. Sure, refs often get decisions about throw ins and free kicks in the middle of the park right, but it’s the big calls inside the box where the game is often won and lost.

If the referee makes one bad decision within the penalty area he is more often than not the villain of the story and blamed for costing aside a crucial three points or a cup run. No one particularly cares that 240 decisions are correct if the man in the middle misses the one obvious penalty.

Although it’s true that almost every fan has at some point rightly criticized the official for missing a stonewall call, it’s also fair to say that the men in black only have seconds or less to see the incident unfold. Refs are continually accused of being, sloppy or being to overwhelmed to resist giving decisions the way of the league’s elite.

Last season saw an alleged stat from a Manchester city fan who claimed that Liverpool had been awarded “11 offside goals” and “nine penalties”. The tweet received over 3000 retweets and 7000 likes.

While Liverpool supporters were quick to refute the claim, the perception still spread that the powers that be were unconsciously or otherwise favouring the Merseysiders. The Video Assistant Referee has the potential to ensure match defining moments are decided with evidence and not by gut instinct.

The chance to look again allows for the much-maligned human embodiment of the rules an opportunity to ensure justice prevails, while mitigating the perception of impropriety. Clear and obvious mistakes during goals, penalty awards, straight red cards and cases of mistaken identity are the only things that can be overturned.

Many people have Critiqued and complained about the term ‘clear and obvious’, often lamenting the system when what they see as a blatant spot kick isn’t given.

However, what the pundits and the punters need to accept is that the term ’clear and obvious’ is not meant for them, but rather the trained officials. For those struggling to grasp the difference, let’s imagine your computer has broken.

You’ve turned it on and off at the wall, tried to make sense of the jargon supplied by the online help centre, and then angrily hit it for good measure. There’s nothing left for it except to call the repair man. They may cost a pretty penny, but they’re worth it because the tech team can translate the confusing gobbledygook as easily as reading the McDonald’s menu.

You might think all the time we spend with our machines we might get to grips with it, but it rarely works out that way does it? Fans are also known for their willingness to spend long hard hours following their beloved team, roaring the side on win or lose.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that their necessarily qualified to be a referee. While official training could stand to be improved, it’s a fairly safe bet that most elite level referees understand and study the laws of the game more fully than the average man on the street. Their education hardly makes them perfect though and neither will VAR.

During the various trial phases of the program, decisions have often seemed ponderous, with the man or woman in charge needing many looks over several minutes to judge apparently soft fouls.

To make matters more perplexing, referees have definitively pointed to the spot at one end only to then negate that with a review decision at the other end. You only need look at the latest match between Portugal and Switzerland to see the drama it can cause.

Even the most ardent supporter of the system should bear in mind that it won’t correct everything, and it certainly won’t remove all controversy from the world’s favourite sport.

The setup is essentially just fancy TV screens positioned at the side of the pitch and a central location off-site. It may be novel, but a TV screen can’t make a decision for the trained official. That’s why they put the referee in Video Assistant Referee.

The new kit is not the answer to all that ails the English game. Supporters will still have plenty of scope to lambaste the very human, very fallible person in neutral colours as they continue to make the occasional bizarre decision.

What VAR will do is lessen the number of metaphorical asterisk on big game moments.

For teams like Saints, who have struggled on the fringes of the top-flight the vast sums of money on offer is a huge difference maker.

The joy and unpredictability of Footy will do little to console a side who is condemned to, relegation and all the devastation that can bring, because the referee couldn’t spot the strikers fingers on the ball.

From Thierry Henry’s horrendous World Cup saving handball of 2009, to Chelsea’s crushing offside equalizer against Cardiff, there has been many a season defining mistake, which no one deserves on their conscience.

It’s time that beleaguered referees are given the tools to ensure that the best of the best win out and not simply the luckiest.