Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has compared VAR to a car – and insists that big changes must come soon.
After a severe error that resulted in Liverpool player Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham being disallowed even though he was onside, VAR has been under fire in recent days.
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of the Reds, called for a rematch of the 2-1 defeat for Liverpool, albeit he has subsequently claimed he was misquoted.
Pochettino also shared his opinions on VAR, which included an analogy to an automobile.
I trust the automobile, but I don’t trust the driver,” he declared in his press conference on Friday.
“Many years ago, I was highly critical right from the start. The technology of whether it is offside and across the line to keep. Then we can talk about whether the referee needs to have the final say.
“For me, it’s about making things simpler. The most crucial change is to increase the referee’s authority.
“To accept when he is fouled because perceptions can vary in real life.
When you see the action through VAR, it might be quite difficult to tell what is going on because some circumstances are magnified, but occasionally football players can tell what is going on from the visual.
But the two to keep are goal line and offside technology.
“Then it’s about penalties, some actions to judge in the game, it is for the referee.
“At the moment we are not happy with VAR, the people in charge and we are not happy with the referee. One step back may make things easier and more clear.”
Talk over the effectiveness of VAR has dominated in recent days in the Premier League after the error made in north London last Saturday.
The PGMOL released the audio over an incident that saw a breakdown in communication as Diaz wrongly had a goal ruled out for offside.
But it has done little to clear up the issue, revealing the ineptitude of those involved.
Referee Darren England, in charge of VAR that day, has since been taken off games for the following Premier League weekend and will not take charge of any match involving Liverpool.
However, England has not been sacked and retains the backing of PGMOL chief Howard Webb.
