User:Mr.kakes/Video assistant referee

Criticism
The use of video technology at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was criticised after several contentious moments involving VAR at the tournament. It was accused of "creating as much confusion as clarity".

Further criticism was leveled at VAR after it suffered issues preventing its use, for example in a Portuguese match where a supporter's flag had been obscuring the VAR camera, or in the 2018 A-League Grand Final between Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory where the VAR software suffered a technical malfunction which prevented the assistant referee from viewing the replay. In addition, research from the University of Bath found that, on average, "participants thought the ball was kicked 132 miliseconds later than it actually was" , proving that the technology at present has issues with accuracy.

After the introduction of VAR in the 2018 World Cup, FIFA deemed it a success. Nevertheless, the use (or lack of use) of VAR has been criticised. Independent assessments note that while most decisions were made correctly as a result of VAR, some were wrong despite VAR review and some decisions which were called incorrectly were not even reviewed. The Guardian concludes that VAR has been most effective for factual decisions such as offsides and mistaken identities, while subjective decisions such as penalties or the disciplining of players have fared much worse. Lack of clarity and consistency are two main areas of weakness.

Another line of criticism has been targeted at the effectiveness of the system in achieving its goal. In the opinion of Scott Stinson from the National Post, VAR, like any other replay system, fails to correct human error and instead only adds to the controversies because human judgment is still necessary. Human error has significant social impacts as well, as a research study done in Italy found that players with darker skin complexion were "more likely to receive punishment for foulls" with all else held constant '''. Such a bias, which might be considered an unconcious bias, is likely to only be heightened by VAR technology.''' Lack of transparency is another contentious point, as teams have no way to know which incidents were reviewed by the VAR team. At a press conference held after the group stage, FIFA referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina showed footage of the decision-making process accompanied with audio of the conversations between VAR officials and the referees. Asked if this audio could be made publicly available, as it is in rugby and cricket, Collina answered affirmatively but cautioned that it might still be too early. '''In an attempt to provide more transparency, sports broadcaster Sky Sports launched the controversial television programme "Match Officials Mic'd Up". Produced by the Premier League, the show aims to bring transparency and constructive discourse to the VAR process, with host Michael Owen and PGMOL Chief Howard Webb analysing VAR calls from previous game weeks .'''

Others have pointed to the game-changing nature of VAR. There is an increase in the number and duration of pause in the game with VAR system. Initial fears that using the system would lengthen the game considerably have not been confirmed, with every VAR review taking up an average of only 80 seconds. The dramatic increase in the number of penalties awarded at the 2018 World Cup has been attributed to VAR catching fouls which would otherwise have remained unpunished. Of the 169 goals scored in the tournament, 22 were from penalty kicks (with 29 being awarded in total), beating the previous record of 17 set in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Jonathan Liew of The Independent compares the situation to the introduction of the Decision Review System in cricket and notes the changes it had on that sport, and suggests that it might lead to changes of a similar nature in football.

In February 2019, UEFA issued guidance which stated that players who made a "TV-screen" hand gesture should result in a yellow card. "Excessively using the 'review' (TV screen) signal" is now listed as a caution for which a player may receive a yellow card in the Laws of the Game. Early uses of VAR in the Premier League, at the beginning of the 2019–20 season, were described as confusing to both coaches and fans with the decision making often inconsistent. By 2022 the application of VAR in the Premier League was still subject to criticism. On 3 September 2022, games involving Chelsea, West Ham United, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Leeds United all contained contentious VAR decisions.

Premier League officials were criticized for taking lucrative jobs in the Middle East. In the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on 30 September 2023, the VAR Darren England made a decision that led to the disallowance of a valid goal scored by Luis Diaz. England was alleged of losing focus because he had taken an eight-hour flight back from the United Arab Emirates along with Dan Cook, the assistant VAR. The situation further complicated when it was revealed that England and Cook had been in the UAE to supervise a Pro League game. They reportedly received a payment of £15-20k for this duty.