More VAR controversy
"It's gone, it's over", those were the words of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after he saw red when Brentford's equaliser stood when it really should have been ruled out for offside in the build up play as Arsenal dropped two huge points as they drew 1-1. Brighton also drew when they could have won if not for VAR also wrongly making a decision, this time the goal should have stood. There are many column inches on VAR and it's possible to scream about how many glaring errors there have been and write a few volumes on it. At the end of the day if humans are still running the show there is going to be human error. However in terms of gamesmanship it feels as if Arsenal were robbed this weekend and it was a huge and significant game. It feels odd then that everyone will walk away from the incident and be done with it, it is now consigned to history. One has to wonder though if rules could be changed in future? On this occasion the mistake has been such a huge one where an offside so obvious could not be spotted in two and a half minutes of holding up play- since when did VAR become the star of the show? Because that is how it feels. Someone's decision who is not even at the ground could well cost Arsenal a league title. Would it not make more sense to reverse the result after the game, and have a five minute window to do so? Why should all of Arsenal's hard work from training behind the scenes and putting in a shift in front of 60,000 fans be undone by one person behind a computer screen?
Another rule that seems incredibly unfair is adding on the right amount of time during a game. Time and again we have seen 1 minute added at half time or at full time 4 minutes. Those figures seem to be the go to ones for trying to be fair to the losing side. However time and again we have seen players feign injuries and slow the game down. Many people were against the Qatar World Cup but it did get the injury time right. There was a zero tolerance attitude to it and that's why we got the proper run time sometimes it would be 10 minutes injury time, some may complain it was overkill but it was the right decision. Again this comes down to fairness and gamesmanship and if you aren't going to be fair then why play the game in the first place? One worry is that the television companies won't put up with the additional time, that may hurt their advertisers and sponsors as they try to squish in extra ad revenue. That becomes harder to do if you end up having a quarter of an hour extra to your product, and make no mistake television rules the roost when it comes to modern day football.
The Super League isn't going away
Don't be fooled, the proposal back in 2021 was never serious it was simply throwing a stone in the water to see what would happen, what would be the public reaction? It didn't go down well, so then you go back to the drawing board and try again. The new Super League by a company called A22 (no not the motorway) has suggested 80 clubs could be involved, with four different leagues and 14 games for each club. This sadly feels like the UEFA Nations League and just looks rather bloated. Perhaps a younger generation would be more interested in it then an older one, that is up for contention. The current format of the Champions League may not be the most desirable but there is something very unique about a knock out competition. What does the Super League even mean? You have a league championship and the team in 1st place are the winners? What if by April they are so far in front that it's over, what is there left to play for? Or will we see the top four in the league play off for a semi and then a final match? If so what is the point of the team in 1st place, what does it all mean if they play great football but go out in the semi-finals? Money will be king and clubs will get super rich but it's a huge doubt that football will be the winner. The whole proposal is akin to a long yawn complete with dollar bills and euros foaming from the mouth. And yet of course it feels inevitable that a Super League will happen. But it probably should be governed by UEFA. It would be a surprise to see one set up in this decade though but from the 2029/2030 season don't be surprised if we are kissing goodbye to the old European Cup trophy and re-imaging a new one.
Finally UEFA have admitted 9 months down the line that the security breaches and policing was poor in the 2022 Champions League final. They stopped short that people could have died, but that is the reality of the situation. Luckily no one did but thousands of fans were either robbed of their phones holding their tickets or tear gassed even with tickets, it was total chaos. UEFA are going to refund fans but don't be fooled, they won't miss a trick here. Firstly they have sat on the money for almost a year with some tickets costing as much as £600. Secondly don't be surprised if the next finals ticket prices rise once again, they may refund fans but they will also be passing on that cost to other fans. We should remind ourselves that a Category 1 ticket to a final has risen from £80 to £600 in twenty years, has your salary done the same?
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