VAR was introduced at the start of the current 2019/20 Premier League season, and though it has come under its fair share of scrutiny, the majority of complaints have been aimed at he new offside rules which have seen VAR rule out a large number of goals already.
Under new offside rules and VAR at the ready, offside calls are placed under the microscope for some serious scrutiny with some goals being ruled out over a matter of millimetres. League challengers Manchester City and Liverpool have both seen a number of goals disallowed already, most notably, Firmino’s goal against Burnley and Raheem Sterling’s effort against West Ham. Both of which were adjudged to be offside by the position of their armpit.
Chants of “F*** VAR” have been hear don every terrace so far this season. And in order to try and reconnect with the fans, Arsene Wenger, the ex-Arsenal manager now FIFA’s chief of global football development has stated that changes may be made by the start of next season.
What changes can fans expect?
Instead of players being adjudged offside if any part of the body with which they are able to score a goal is past the last defender, Wenger has suggested an amendment so that “you will not be offside if any part of the body that can score a goal is in line with the last defender, even if other parts of the attacker’s body are in front”.
Not only would the rule change see a lot more goals return to the Premier League but will hopefully help repair the relationship breakdown that fans are currently going through with the Premier League.
When it comes football, fans rarely like change. Especially when it takes so much from the game. Wenger has also pledged to increase the number of VAR specialists to help improve the video assistant refereeing decisions overall.