Tuesday 8, the renovated Centenario stadium was the scene of a new Copa Libertadores, number 63. It was inaugurated in the first phase by the debutant Montevideo City Torque and the always entertainer Barcelona SC. The team from Guayaquil won 1-0 almost in the locker room, tied with the City Football Group club (it is made up of eleven clubs from around the world and its flagship is Manchester City). There was no camera showing him clearly from the side; however, a feeling of offside remained. Shy protest of the Barcelona players.
In the 87th minute, a clear penalty was seen against the Ecuadorian Gabriel Cortez in the Torque area, which was not sanctioned by the Argentine referee Darío Herrera (he received a poor rating from the referee inspectors). There was no possible doubt there: extremely penal. The fan jumped out of his seat: “And the VAR…?!”
Here’s the bad news: there is no VAR in the opening rounds of the Libertadores. First, second, third round and group stage, 126 games in total. Only 29 matches will enjoy video arbitration, from the round of 16 onwards. Last December, the VAR turned five years old. Not since 1871, when the English Cup began, has a measure generated so much controversy in this sport. “Football is over”, “They killed the game”, “They took away its essence” (is the mistake its essence?). They were just some of the millions of apocalyptic verdicts poured out at its start.
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Reasons to defend VAR
We give those enemies of technological assistance a simple test: their team is playing the world final, they are tied and there are two minutes left; the rival scores a goal offside, but the referee validates it anyway. Do you want there to be VAR or not…? Or they will insist with the usual “I prefer human error”. It is well-demonstrated that, in terms of goals (that is, whether the ball entered the goal or not) and overtaking, the technology is exhaustive, it does not fail. And in interpretive matters –penalties, possible expulsion faults– it helps a lot. Irrefutable proof is the match Ecuador 1 – Brazil 1. Wilmar Roldán, an exceptional referee, made five wrong decisions that afternoon, the VAR helped him to repair four (the expulsion of Emerson escaped him, which was exaggerated). That’s what it’s all about, reducing the margin of error. And the VAR has lowered it to negligible, tolerable levels.
It is enough to remember an attack, one among millions that were recorded: the huge blow of the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher to the Frenchman Patrick Battiston in the ’82 World Cup. Perhaps a footballer has never been so close to dying on a playing field due to a foul. The Dutchman Charles Corver, who directed that semifinal in Seville, did not expel Schumacher, he did not even mark an infraction. They tied 3-3, went to penalties, Schumacher blocked two and Germany went through to the final. If there had been VAR it was a penalty and expulsion, and almost certainly France was going to the decisive match with Italy. And he could even be a champion.
If five people have called the referee to ask him to review a possible penalty play, it is because there are well-founded doubts. That way you decide better.
Of course, at the beginning there were errors from the cockpit or it took too long to determine a fault. A sophisticated system, in such a visceral spectacle, with tens of thousands of people in the stands, the footballers pressing to one side and the other, reviewing in some cases up to twenty cameras, with the judge on the field and the booth a hundred meters, it is not easy to implement it or for it to work perfectly from day one. It cost, but nobody discusses in the stadium anymore when the VAR annuls or concedes a goal. It is known that the lines have been drawn and whoever is ahead is. And the one that is enabled, too. Penalties, ditto. If five people have called the referee to ask him to review a possible penalty play, it is because there are well-founded doubts. That way you decide better. There is no need to define a World Cup with a disallowed goal if there is a chance to be sure. Justice demands any investment and all efforts.
So, we ask ourselves: why does a tournament as important as the Libertadores not have VAR in all its matches…? There are two understandable reasons: cost and logistics. In the internal tournaments of each country it is simpler, there are fewer transfers and local personnel are used. In a continental competition, neutral referees are required – four on the field and two in the cabin –, the trips are international and take between three and four days to get to and from a match. And between tickets, accommodation, per diem, etc., plus the local video operators, which are two, and the camera service of the service providers, it is an important movement with a high outlay. Understandable, although the Cup moves hundreds of millions of dollars and the security of a good arbitration deserves it. It is the legal backing of any sports contest.
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In the referee world there is one hundred percent approval of the VAR. It is a containment network that protects them from monumental mistakes. “The VAR would have saved the careers of many who were removed from the activity due to bad performances,” they say.
The road to VAR modernization
Fifa has just introduced a semi-automatic VAR that, through software, instantly indicates whether there is an advanced position or not. And it does not require human observation. It will be a new addition.
During the week we carried out a survey on Twitter with the premise “Do you agree with the implementation of this technological resource…? 71.2 percent voted for the option “Yes, it’s very good”, 28.8 percent adhered to the antagonistic “No, it spoiled football”. In a decade its acceptance may reach 99 percent. And beyond that, it will not be understood how it was played without VAR.
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Football is a century and a half old and VAR is barely learning to walk. The game is still engaging, with fewer bugs. He was a tough baby, but he grows strong and now everyone is starting to love him. The boys who were also born in 2016, when they are fifteen or twenty years old, they will ask surprised “There was really no VAR in football? And what was he like?
last tango…
Jorge Barraza
For the time
@JorgeBarrazaOK
#VAR #tango #opinion