VAR changes traditional values
The D'italia Derby was exciting and stimulating as expected by fans with 10 yellow cards, 2 red cards and 5 goals. There were head shakes and Conte's anger, there were even situations where Ronaldo was substituted and sat in a sitting with Dybala, but the most discussed topic after the match was the decisions of the referee and VAR.
Video support technology once again played an important role in determining the winner or loser of a match. 3/5 of the goals at the Allianz Stadium were directly contributed by VAR. If Darmian's Chiellini pull-up was quite obvious, the slight step on Lautaro's heel was too fast and difficult to see with the naked eye. De Ligt has matured, learned many "professional skills" of Serie A defenders, but the technology era does not leave much room for the sub.
As a senior and perhaps a master of De Ligt, Chiellini is probably the one who has a good grasp of this. In the situation where Inter Milan equalized 2-2, the Italian midfielder played a tricky game, deliberately landing on the person pretending to be pulled down. Chiellini's performance and physical movements are uncompromising and have also deceived the main referee Gianpaolo Calvarese. However, VAR technology did not use emotion to decide and the video "juggled" Lukaku, and the worker scored a valid goal.
Schemes are part of football. In Italian football, defenders brought the "ghost" games to the master line, making all opposing strikers wary. An outstanding, clear-headed individual like Zidane must also end his football career after theprovocative situation of Marco Materazzi, who is called the "devil" in football but is still the "ange" in the hearts of Italian fans. That said, evaluating an individual and their current status in football is sometimes opposite and only relative.
Tricks are part of the game. That may be controversial, but offside is certainly part of the football rules. However, even this law is increasingly affected by VAR. The referee's failure to recognize Chelsea's equalizer due to Ben Chilwell's offside caused confusion among the audience. The line for determining of offside seems to be different by... armpits.
Over the past 150 years, the offside law has never been perfect and may never reach that point. The original purpose of the law was only to prevent everyone from getting close to the goal or the opposing striker from standing at the same goal. Since its inception, it has been refined, released, and revised, but rarely simplified. VAR does not bring perfection, and even has certain errors due to limitations in 2D display and frame/second number. However, technology provides authenticity, helping referees not need to imagine or worry much.
On Saturday (European time), striker Edinson Cavani commented that VAR caused the inherent beauty of the ball to disappear. "Because you don't know why the referee blew the penalty or offside. Sometimes after scoring, you have to wait 2 minutes to celebrate, or worse, after celebrating, the goal is not recognized because the nails or hair are in an offside position". Those words predict Ben Chilwell's case just a day later.
Is VAR only valid when used?
VAR played a key role, deciding the " welcoming and laughing" in the 2 matches in Italy and England. However, it is not necessarily that this technology has been used at full capacity by the referee. That is also the controversy.
In Juventus' 3-2 goal, Cuadrado seemed to deliberately get caught up in Perisic's intervention. However, when the Colombian midfielder fell, referee Calvarese did not check VAR but immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Similarly, in Leicester's only goal, the ball touched Ayoze Perez's hand for a few beats before reaching Tielemans. Of course, there is enough theory to explain, because the ball bounces off Perez's thigh before touching his hand and it takes a few beats for the Foxes to score.
It is not easy to judge right and wrong. Referees themselves have their own reasons because they are the ones who decide, while VAR is just a support tool. However, when choosing not to consult technology in decisive situations, having to accept criticism is inevitable, especially when the opposing side suffers from VAR decisions.
After the match, coach Thomas Tuchel did not give any comments or opinions, because he "did not see clearly". However, the German strategist insists that "VAR does not resolve controversial cases for Chelsea", even though his assistants and players have reviewed the video and requested.
Previously, former Blues coach Frank Lampard said that VAR provides a "second perspective" for the main referee, so if they want them to be valuable, the referee himself must check. Until Tuchel's time, that saying was still valid.
Meanwhile, Leicester's "hero" Tielemans burst out laughing to thank VAR, because this technology was used at the right time to help his team win. "That decision is difficult but it must be made, offside is offside."
In football, some people cry, some laugh. VAR seems to be causing many values of the bridge village to fade, but this technology itself has not yet fully promoted its own value.
