FOOTBALL Mid North Coast boss Mike Parsons has added his name to a growing list of players, administrators, referees, fans or commentators weighing in to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) debate.
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Parsons raised concerns about who had control on the field – the on-field referees, or the people watching the game in the VAR booth.
“To me, the VAR has expanded it’s role to what it was brought in for; it was there originally to officiate on the clear-cut errors of law in our game,” he said.
“We need to better educate our referees and their ability to communicate with the people in the video box.
“Otherwise, we need to get rid of the on-field referee and have a referee in a booth that broadcasts their decisions to the crowd.”
It took less than two rounds for the VAR to raise its controversial head in the Hyundai A-League season.
On Saturday night, Western Sydney were denied a goal in their clash with Sydney FC at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
It came after Melbourne City were awarded a penalty in a round one clash against Melbourne Victory.
The clash between the Wellington Phoenix and Newcastle Jets on the same weekend also had a handful of contentious decisions.
That was after the Jets fell foul of the process when they incorrectly conceded a goal in the grand final, but Parsons felt the input of the VAR is ruining the “flow” of the game.
“We’ve been taught to play the whistle,” he said.
“But now fans are waiting for a reason to have a goal taken off them, or in the Newcastle Jets’ case in the grand final, a wrong call standing.”
(Referees) are not viewing the game as it is meant to be viewed, but I don’t think getting rid of (VAR) altogether is the solution.
- Mike Parsons
“Are the on-field referees still in control of the game?
“They are not viewing the game as it is meant to be viewed, but I don’t think getting rid of it altogether is the solution; we need to limit it’s ability to intervene.”
The subjective nature of refereeing decisions added to the complexity of the VAR process.
“As a referee, a lot of calls that take place on a football field are subjective,” Parsons said.
“The beauty of our game is that it isn’t like a road rule that states you must do 60 kilometres an hour.”
The FMNC chairman also added officials required a better view of an incident than a “tiny little laptop on a tripod on the sideline.”
He did, however, concede it was here to stay.
“No one will ever win the argument to get rid of it,” he said.
“If we still can’t get (the process) right then we need to change our administration and not the VAR.”
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