After observing 100’s of games and suffering from personal experience, both as a player and a coach. VAR will definitely help change attitudes which are only good for the game. You name the foul & be counting nearly every form of assault known to man. If perpetrated in a public place it would rightly earn the culprit several years in prison. So where can anarchy reign in our daily lives?
Just try a soccer penalty area just prior to a corner kick. Every weekend a pile of games on TV highlight foul after foul every time a corner kick is about to be taken. They range from pushing, holding, scratching, grabbing, punching, to near rape. If the police were in charge rather than a referee nearly 50% of all professional players would be watching these games from their prison cell, probably in a padded one!
Pro’s will take the laws to their limit in their competitive zeal to win but somewhere between FIFA, the players and the referee the game has gone off track and something needs to be done rather than watch this weekly farce get worse & worse. Do we have to wait ’til someone gets killed or an illegal goal causes a riot? Why can’t FIFA & other governing bodies be proactive with positive changes?
Like the infamous “Hand of God” that somehow legalized the issue of handling the ball in the box to millions watching, especially youngsters. “If Maradona can get away with it why can’t I” and the cancer spreads.
Today it’s even worse because of so many games televised worldwide. To this day I have never worked out what is “professional” about a “professional foul.” To cheat to win only devalues the game and sadly too many professionals don’t realize their influence they have across the sport to the next generation of players.
I feel for the officials on some distant parks pitch dealing with this junk & have no support, trying to deal with this rubbish. Then you wonder why so many referees walk away from the game.
It’s time to deal with this mess and come up with some options & possible changes to the Laws. A good place to start is by looking at other sports that have gone through similar problems. Field hockey might be a good place to start where they separate attackers from defenders at corner kicks. Even the biggest thug can’t abuse the player they usually “mark” as the defenders have to start on the goal-line with the attackers on the edge of the circle or in soccer’s geography, the edge of the box.
