VAR or Video assistant referees was and still is a great idea. However the execution and use of this technology and the referees using this technology have now proven that we are either not ready for this, or we are not using it properly. VAR is causing more harm than good, and now is the time for change. 

Here's what we want to see:

They gave us VAR, we were willing to accept change. It hasn't worked, now they must also be willing to accept change. I call upon The FA to do to one of two things:

First choice: Re-write the rules of VAR in a CLEAR and non-ambigous way that cannot be determined subjectively. Also provide the audio between the officials like they do in rugby and other sporting events. Fans need to hear what transpires during these conversations. 

The second option, if the first option above is not be feasible, is to remove VAR. UEFA doesn't use it, and believe me the controversy after games is much less intense. 

Also: Regardless of how the future of football looks, officials that make clear and obvious errors need to have consequences. As often, bad decisions lead to players like Virgil Van Dijk seriously injured through unfair circumstances. The consequences for the players, the club's and the fans are very real. There should also be very real consequences for officials who do not show the high level of competency we not only need, but now expect, due to the many, many cameras and technology showing us every detail of the game. 

More details on why we want this change:

Before I get into the major issues with VAR here are the softer negatives of it:

VAR really breaks the momentum of the game, as much excitement; it provides the stop in play. 

Sometimes refs take too long to make a decision and the celebration has to be put on hold. 

In cricket and rugby, the public has access to the audio version of the conversation between the VAR officials and the referee, which aided the referee’s decision in the game. This is not the same as football. There is no way of knowing what transpired between the VAR team and the referee.

Controversy may not be good, but it keeps the game going. When a game ends, people walk back home from the stadium discussing how a rough tackle hadn’t seen a player sent out of the football pitch. When it happens with the aid of VAR, there is no excuse, no reasoning and fans are left not only feeling cheated but also frustrated and even angry. 

Now onto the major issue with VAR:

1. VAR supposedly has rules. However the implementation of these rules is so poor that it's embarrassing. The main issue is consistency. A good example of this can be found in the Liverpool v Everton game 17th October 2020. Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk had a VAR decision against him for offiside. To decide this, the officials drew the line from the players elbow. Later in the same game, Liverpool forward Mane had another VAR decision made against him and the same officials drew the line from the players shoulder. It is one thing to worry about the subjective nature of these decisions across separate games, but when the same referees during the same match use different rules each time VAR is called in, the games are seriously unfair and VAR simply cannot be used or trusted in this way. 

2. The implementation of VAR has not happened elsewhere. As our UK teams compete for a position in the European games, we are playing a different sport to our friends in Europe who don't have VAR scrutinizing the game. VAR completely changes the game. When we face off against European teams without VAR we are no longer used to that type of game play, especially as the pace is completely different. This is again not fair. 

3. Player safety. Believe it or not, players are at some risk with VAR. As VAR seems to take priority over anything else that is happening on the pitch. If a player is injured badly, but a fouls occured before the foul that caused the injury, VAR will go back to the first fouls and make a decision on what should happen based only on the first foul. This means that, for example - if a player is offside, but then a red card offense is commited against the offside player, breaking his leg, knees or ankle in the process, a free kick would be awarded for the offside and the player who was injured has their season cut to and end and possibly their career without any form of punishment for the red card offense. This is totally unacceptable and actually insane. This opens a world of possibilities for players with a bad mentality. This was also seen during the Everton V Liverpool game 17th October 2020 when virgil van dijk was offside, however Jordan Pickford, the Everton goal keeper commited a terrible red card, "career ending tackle" on him, putting him in recovery for 8 months. No punishment was given, because of the earlier offside. This is simply not ok. Not when Peoples health and wellbeing is at increased and unnecessary risk. 

4. The extra time is takes to make a decision on VAR is not really added back into the game. Upon recording a game where 7 whole minutes went into decision making inside of the 90 minutes, only 5 minutes was added. Considering that VAR is not the only thing that should get added to extra time, that number should have been much higher in reality. 

5. Mistakes. When, according to their own loosely worded set of rules, a VAR decision is made live on air, and incorrectly, there is no excuse. Before VAR, it was easy to understand how a human can alone not see something clearly. Now with all the cameras and this technology there is simply no excuse for getting it wrong time and time again. Despite the reapeated failing of this technology, there is no consequences for those who do get it wrong, even when it's clear and obvious. And example of a zero consequence approach with how the FA deal with their own incompetence, is shown with the recent hawk eye failing to detect a goal, and so a Goal was never awarded. Every human could see the goals, the HD cameras for live television replayed the millions of viewers the goal. Yet if a technology doesn't buzz the referees arm to tell them a goal was scored, he or she won't count it. Most of the time, technology fails due to the user. This is definitely the case with VAR. But regardless of a user or actual technical failure, there are no consequences. "The makers of the goalline technology used in the Premier League have issued an apology after the resumption of the season descended into farce when a goal was disallowed because cameras failed to spot the ball crossing the line." Sheffield United never received justice. An apology was less than the least they could do, which would when been to push a button and increase the goal counter by 1 as damn expected.

6. CLEAR AND OBVIOUS - what does this mean? Because VAR is often used and called upon at request of the players. Players often scream for VAR just to try and see if they can uncover the slightest of offsides in their favour. VAR was not meant to be used for every single incident. But as time progresses, in each new game it is used more and more. We could argue that if you use it for one offence, you should use it for all of them. But as VAR is being called upon at player request, then shouldn't every goal, free kick, corner, and foul be looked at by VAR? Of course this is not possible, but in order to make it fair, it would have to be. In 2019, Jack de Menezes wrote that the Premier League are not using the video assistant referee system correctly, it should stick to clear and obvious fouls and not be relied on pinpointing the marginal offside calls.

7. The fans hate it. In a game against Crystal Palace where Arsenal had a goal disallowed with seven minutes left to go in the match - The VAR was lengthy and after coming to a conclusion to not give the goal, no real explanation was given to the fans in the stadium. This decision left the players and fans frustrated as they had to wait to resume play and the fans did not get a conclusive explanation to why the decision was needed and took so long. If the ref can be overuled by VAR, then who can overule VAR? If VAR is the all deciding power in football the rules need to be clearer, and the officials need to be trained and educated better. Because it's not working.

VAR has been constantly used to call players who are millimetres offside even with parts of the body that cannot be used to score goals such as hands and arms. These time-wasting calls have frustrated players, coaches, fans and the entire football community and they are calling for immediate change to way VAR is being used in the Premier League.

Most football fans have agreed that VAR is ruining the flow and spirit of the game as it seems like every match there are controversial decisions made by the system that stops play for long periods of time. 

I won't Jump on the "ban VAR" Bandwagen, it's a great idea. But it's use is ineffective and harmful. We need to see change. Help us improve our countries greatest sport. 

Please sign and share this petition, let's make football great again. Thank you very much for your time, and stay safe out there.