VAR. What Is It Good For?

For those unaware, the title of this piece is a variation on a very well-known song released by the late, great soul singer Edwin Starr (and was later covered by Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their seminal album Welcome To The Pleasuredome; but I digress)... Nonetheless, the title seems very apt, as refereeing and VAR once more take centre stage on a Premier League Saturday. And for those who don't know the song, I'll give you the answer to exactly what it's good for later on in this piece.

I'll return to VAR, as there are a few other matters to discuss before I get to what is quite clearly the main topic. And firstly to team selection; which frankly had me worried the moment I saw it. One doesn't want to go to a place like St James' Park looking quite so depleted in the midfield and forward areas. 

OK; we were expecting Partey and Jesus to be out. Also Smith Rowe. But to find Odegaard missing from the squad after his cameo on Wednesday was bad news. And, frankly, I'm often uncomfortable to see Jorginho in the side. The latter has, in the words of the Liam Neeson character Bryan Mills in 'Taken', 'a particular set of skills'. But I'm not sure that they are suited, these days, to such a challenge as Newcastle away. Chuck Havertz into that mix as well, and there looked to be an awful lot resting on the broad shoulders of Declan Rice.

Up front, the absence of Jesus meant Eddie continued in the side - for his 100th Premier League appearance! - and whilst he can be commended for a hat-trick at home to Sheffield United this, quite evidently, was a completely different challenge.

As for the game itself; well, it was tight, as could be expected, and chances were at a premium. Both sides looked to cancel each other out, and succeeded to a great extent. For Arsenal, the standout players were Rice - especially in the first half - and the imperious William Saliba. Elsewhere, Arsenal struggled going forwards. Nketiah pressed well, but did little with the ball; often looking lightweight against Newcastle's experienced defensive quartet. 

Newcastle's midfield trio cut off a lot of the passing lanes to Havertz and Eddie, sending Arsenal into wide areas where Saka and Martinelli continually found themselves doubled and even trebled up. Not that Saka, in particular, made much of an effort to beat a man as he was continually shepherded inside. White had difficulty getting forward, and Odegaard was missed. As, it turns out, was Zinchenko; not for his defending - I'm sure we'd all prefer to see Tomiyasu in there for that job - but for his ability to drift into space and link play.

To describe the match as 'combative' would sum it up nicely. Arsenal were on top, with their superior quality showing through; although they had little to show for their dominance in possession. And Newcastle did look dangerous on the break, with Jorginho's lack of pace continually exposed as the home team ran into the space left by Havertz and Rice's forays forwards. But, with Saliba marshalling, Arsenal's defence held firm

But things started to boil up when Havertz launched himself into Longstaff. 

But this was not before Burn could count himself fortunate not to have been booked for two vindictive challenges on Saka within the space of a minute. And also not before Havertz himself was spotted on the floor holding his face - from a deliberate stiff arm from Guimaraes (you'll spot a theme here). 

So I'd suggest that Havertz was pretty annoyed when he flew in on Longstaff. It looked awful, frankly; one of those Wenger 'dark yellows'. And it was pretty daft to look to seek retribution (on the wrong player!) with 30 cameras in the ground. Foolish. Yellow for Havertz - the very least it deserved; but amusingly also yellows for three Newcastle players for protesting!

In injury time, another flashpoint as Guimaraes attempted revenge on Havertz, missed, and in his further rage immediately elbowed Jorginho in the head - late, and off the ball. Cleared - amazingly - by VAR; when it's as clear a red as... well, Havertz's challenge was. Clearer, frankly. VAR decided that as it was 'merely' a forearm, and not his elbow, that it wasn't dangerous enough to warrant a card. First egregious error.

So one can apparently get away with challenges on a football field that one can barely get away with in a wrestling ring! Still, if we thought that VAR Madley had failed to do his job here, just you wait until later!

Guimaraes followed that up by smashing a free kick straight at Declan Rice, who was no more than a couple of yards away. Fortunately for the Brazilian, it was very close to half-time. And so scores were level; both on goals and possible red cards. And if you're comparing the two at least Havertz can claim he was trying to get to/block the ball; whereas Guimaraes' challenge was nasty and cowardly.

On the hour, a couple of Newcastle changes, followed by a decent headed opportunity for Rice, who latched onto a clearance from Trippier and had Pope beaten if only he'd have been on target. And then...

I've not seen the like of it, frankly. And that's saying a lot bearing in mind what I have seen! 

We've all seen it, but I'll summarise. A long ball from Newcastle sent Joelinton in towards goal. He was crowded out, but Gabriel missed his attampted clearance and Murphy hit a cross shot well wide. So wide, in fact that it looked to have gone out for a goal kick very close to the corner flag. Arsenal stopped chasing (play to thre whistle, lads), and Willock rescued the ball. His deep cross went over Raya (yet another cross that bypassed the keeper at his near post; it's becoming a bit of a theme)...

Which reached Joelinton at the far post. The latter launched himself above Gabriel and bundled the ball back across goal, where Gordon turned it into the net.

I shouted for offside immediately. But there was so much more to unpick, as VAR revealed itself to be good for - as Edwin Starr sang - absolutely nothing! 

3, or perhaps 4 bones of contention here. Firstly, the ball looked to have gone out. Now, we cannot be sure if it did because if you haven't got a camera right above the ball, you cannot be sure (apparently, it had not; quite). And here's a question; if you've got goal-line technology, why can't it be used for ALL lines. To make sure. The curvature of a ball can make it look like it's out of play when it is in fact not; that much is obvious - it's round, after all. But in the same way as it annoys everyone to see players take stupid inches of advantage at corners and even penalty kicks, a Law needs to come in.

Secondly, there's a coming together between Joelinton and Gabriel. VAR decided that it's not a foul. But it clearly is. Just look at this, for a second time; two hands on Gabriel's neck/head. That's why the defender appears to be stooping, and that's why Joelinton has got above him. 

Then, at point of contact, the ball hit various parts of both players' bodies. A head, an arm, and finally a knee. Joelinton's arm, by the way...

And finally, the offside. And for me it's definitely offside. VAR said that there was no definitive angle for the last touch of the ball back to Gordon. Well, firstly I reckoned that there was; and secondly Gordon is ALREADY in front of Raya - and therefore offside! An absolute travesty of a decision! So...

Plus, I remember an incident 18 months ago when an Arsenal goal was disallowed because the VAR couldn't be sure that he was onside. Remember this? Arsenal vs Brighton; April 2022.

But here's the amazing thing. Diabolical a series of decisions as it was, it was probably not the most egregious VAR decision of the day. A penalty awarded against Wolves - for the second successive week, by the way - was an absolutely joke decision. That's 5 times, I believe, that Wolves have suffered at the hands of VAR - in just 11 matches. Manchester United have fallen victim once or twice. Let's not forget what happened in the Spurs/Liverpool game. And I could probably give you several other instances where Arsenal were on the wrong side of VAR already this season; the City (Kovacic) and Chelsea (Sanchez takes out Jesus) matches immediately spring to mind.

Every team gets dodgy VAR decisions, of course. And if they're relatively subjective then that's all well and good. And perhaps they do even themselves out over time. But egregious errors caused by either the technology or the officials themselves being unfit for purpose? Well, that's another matter entirely.

There's little doubt in my mind that the standard of refereeing has failed to improve since... well, since I've been watching football. Which is poor in itself.  Let's not forget that this particular referee once gave a goal when the ball didn't actually go into the net!

TV and now VAR highlight the incompetence more and more these days. And it's clear that the arrival of Howard Webb as Mike Riley's replacement has made little or no difference to standards. At least we sometimes get to hear the VAR audio; but that actually makes it worse!!! I can't wait until they release the audio for this one!

I'm not necessarily one for conspiracy theories, by the way. But it's worth mentioning here that Premier League referees often jet off to Saudi Arabia to officiate - and are paid to do so at a better rate than they are in England. Oh; and who own Newcastle United?... Still, I'm sure that we can read nothing into that...

Back to the game, I suppose. And very little to report, as Newcastle were able to hold Arsenal off with ease. Plenty of possession, and very little to show for it. Arteta's changes - Trossard and Vieira - hardly covered themselves in glory with a serious of poorly delivered free kicks and corners.The main incident to note is that Guimaraes was finally booked in the 88th minute for a hand to the throat of Vieira. His umpteenth such infringement of the match, and he actually had the gall to complain about it! 

Here's another montage:

That final one, by the way, was a barge in the back, off the ball - again! Booked in the 88th minute; his 5th of the season, so he's due a suspension. I'd be disappointed and annoyed if it doesn't become a longer one!

And that was that. And I'm not saying that Arsenal deserved to win the game. Far from it. Too many players underperformed, and a surfeit of chances was the result. But a draw? That would have been a fairer result.

But I've every sympathy for Mikel Arteta's words at his post-game interview. Which, if you haven't heard or seen them, were:

..."we lost the match because of the clear and obvious decisions... it's embarrassing... it's a disgrace. That's what it is. A disgrace. You cannot imagine the number of messages we've got that said that this cannot continue... it is not acceptable - there is too much at stake... Look at the images and, honestly, I don't know how to feel. I'm wasting my time. We are wasting our time. I don't want to be in the hands of people... it is difficult enough to compete against a really good team. There are other things that we cannot control. It affects results, momentum, confidence. The consequences are too big. Too, too big!"

Despite Arsenal putting out a message of support, I'm still expecting a disrepute charge tomorrow. Remember, Klopp wanted their game against Spurs replayed! 

And that's the thing. The costs of these egregious errors are far too big in a multi-million pound sport. Yet for the referees? A weekend off, and then back to work in the Premier League. It's incompetence, with little or no sanction t back it up, and it's simply not good enough.

I actually referee a game of Walking Football of a Tuesday evening. I find that difficult at times. We don't allow running, and we don't allow contact. The same people infringe on running every week, yet they don't learn. And every decision I make - bar the incontestable ones like ball going well over head height, or goal kicks and corners - is contested. Every. Single. One. Moan. Moan.Moan. I've been sworn at. Accused of all sorts. But I do this as an amateur, so I could easily walk away (and many times I've thought about it). But these people are properly trained, and are PAID to do it. When it actually means something! They MUST do better!!!

Anyway, we must move on. The games come thick and fast. Hopefully we'll see Odegaard back this week. Two home games - Sevilla and then a relatively easier game against Burnley. Time to bounce back. COYG!