March 4 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has added his voice to the growing confusion over VAR saying something has to be done to make it more palatable to the average fan.
UEFA’s application of VAR has worked reasonably well in contrast to the English Premier League where referees’ refusal to use pitch-side monitors has caused widespread consternation.
Last weekend the International Football Association Board made no concrete VAR changes at its annual meeting in Belfast but agreed to examine the offside rule which Ceferin says is necessary.
“As I have said many times there is no way back with regard to VAR,” Ceferin told reporters. “It’s helpful in many situations but in my opinion – and the opinion of our referees committee – too unclear.”
“There are some issues that could be solved, for example the line for offside should be a bit thicker. If you are offside by one centimetre, I’m asking myself is this is really offside and an advantage?
“As for the handball rule, it’s also very unclear. We recently had a conference with top coaches … and when our refereeing chief showed them a handball situation, half of them said it was handball and half said no. If it’s not clear for the best coaches in the world it’s not clear for you or me.”
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