Nigel Owens on what he would do to improve football's controversial VAR use
Nigel Owens was confined to bed this weekend, illness resulting in the popular referee from Wales missing out on the Clermont vs Ulster Heineken Champions Cup match he had been appointed to.
However, that didn’t prevent him from having quite an extended opinion on how the rival sport of football has become mired in controversy following the English Premier League’s adoption this season of video technology.
Video assistant referees were brought into the Premier League for the 2019/20 season with a clear objective: to help make difficult decisions easier and eradicate clear and obvious errors.
However, halfway through the season, the technology continues to cause more and more controversy and it sparked further heated debate on Friday night when David Moyes’ West Ham United had an injury-time equaliser at Sheffield United ruled out by VAR.
A Liverpool fan who admitted he tunes into the BBC’s Match of the Day programme whenever possible, Owens revealed in his weekly walesonline.com column that he is frequently asked about the introduction of VAR to football following rugby’s use of the TMO [television match official] for quite a few years.
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“My reply is always the same,” he wrote. “That the modern game – be it football or rugby – is so incredibly fast that if you want to get the big decisions correct, then you need technology to help ensure that.”
Tackling the ongoing controversies that are affecting football’s use of VAR, Owens proceeded to make a lengthy assessment under seven different headings.
Offside controversy: “The officials, including VAR, cannot be blamed for this one. You are either offside or you are not. There is no grey area. In football, provided you directly influence the game, that is the rule. That is what VAR is judging on.
“Once you go to them [the VAR or TMO] to review something, it ties the referee’s hands in applying empathy and the decision has to be a technical one. Is he offside, yes or no, as the rule stands? So don’t blame the referee or the VAR officials, they have to go by the letter of the law.”
Is VAR being over-used?: “There is no doubt in my mind that VAR, and the TMO for that matter, is being over-used. Every goal is checked at the moment, for example, and that’s probably a little bit too much.
“That applies in rugby as well. We as match officials need to get the majority of our on-field decisions right and use the technology as back-up rather than to make decisions for us.”
Nigel Owens: My suggestions to sort VAR and what needs to change to solve its many problems https://t.co/c3VNS7SSwU
— WalesOnline Sport (@WelshSportLive) January 11, 2020
The time it takes to make decisions: “This is one of the big issues in football at the moment, with claims it takes up to three minutes before a decision is made. A goal ruled out, or a penalty award. People get fed up with it, and understandably so.”
Refusal to look at pitchside monitors: “While the referees may be under a Premier League directive, this is one that I cannot fully understand if I’m honest. Look, if you are the referee, you are ultimately the one responsible for making key decisions. You are the one who will be receiving the flak.”
The lack of a big screen: “Rugby referees have the advantage of being able to look at any contentious incident up on the big screen. That doesn’t happen in football and I’m not sure that is fair on the fans who have paid good money to attend the game yet are left in the dark about VAR decision-making.”
It was his first club outing back on home soil following his switch Saracens. #OSPvSAR https://t.co/ABMPYu33nS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 11, 2020
The passion being taken out of the game: “This you could argue applies to rugby, as well as football, when a try is being checked and then potentially ruled out. But by showing the incident up on the big screen, the fans become part of that excitement and the passion isn’t lost.”
Don’t shoot the officials: “This is not a question of rugby getting it right and football needing to learn. Definitely not. As I say, I feel we still use the TMO a little too much in rugby and, of course, we had our own issues in the early days.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments