VAR set to kill one key element of football at St James’ Park next season?

You might be sick of hearing about it, but we’ll have to get used to VAR being discussed on a regular basis given it’s set to be introduced to the Premier League ahead of the new 2019/20 season.

My stance on it – It might be ‘right’, allowing referees to eventually make the correct call after missing key incidents, but it could be an absolute nightmare for us fans and a real game changer when it comes to how we celebrate ‘goals’.

Unfortunately, I fear it could kill one of the greatest elements of a football match – the sudden euphoria we feel when the ball hits the back of the net and we celebrate like we’ve just won the lottery.

I want to be hugging my dad, jumping on fellow Mags around me at St James’ Park and punching the air uncontrollably when we score, but I fear we’ll be looking over our shoulder and checking to see if the referee is hearing a noise in his ear now VAR has been introduced.

As we saw in England’s last two games in the Nations League, wild celebrations were all in vain when it was found Jessie Lingard was offisde and Callum Wilson had fouled his man in the build up to his goal.

As a result, will some think twice about going bananas when that ball hits the back of the net? I think so. Without a doubt. Yes, the referee may go to the screen, check the incident in question and then point to the halfway line to indicate a goal, but there the scenes inside St James’ Park when that happens will be incomparable to the natural and immediate reaction to seeing the ball smash the back of the net.

VAR isn’t a bad idea – it should help referees eventually make the right decision – but I don’t like the way it’s being executed and hate to think what it’ll be like for us fans trying to work out just what’s going on every time a ‘goal’ goes in.

Again, it may be ‘right’, but I fear it will totally deny us fans the chance to celebrate properly and get lost in the moment – something that is arguably the most magical part of football.

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

4 thoughts on “VAR set to kill one key element of football at St James’ Park next season?

  1. It’s no different from the ref being advised by his assistant that it was offside or there was a foul that the ref didn’t see.
    We’ll still be jumping up and down.

    99 out of a hundred will still be given.

      (Quote)

  2. Brrrian:
    It’s no different from the ref being advised by his assistant that it was offside or there was a foul that the ref didn’t see.
    We’ll still be jumping up and down.

    99 outof a hundred will still be given.

    exactly !!!

      (Quote)

  3. Brrrian:
    It’s no different from the ref being advised by his assistant that it was offside or there was a foul that the ref didn’t see.
    We’ll still be jumping up and down.

    99 outof a hundred will still be given.

    I think you’re missing my point though, it’s the fact EVERY goal will be looked at in detail before we know it’s definitely a goal.

    We’ll jump up and down but you can only get so carried away when you still don’t know if the goal’s been given..

      (Quote)

  4. It’s been used in rugby for years and doesn’t spoil the occasion at all, if anything it adds to it. You still have the initial euphoria of a try being scored. That is sometimes followed by tense speculation as key moments are played and replayed on the big screen. Sometimes that ends in disappointment or anger, other times it ends in euphoria all over again.

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *