Cut an Paste from DR (unfortunately)
Scottish Premiership told what life's REALLY like in comparable league where VAR doesn't exist – the truth of saying NO
Civil war has broken out on these shores as managers and players fume at video technology on a weekly basis
Mats Enquist reckons football could copy golf and consider a rollback on VAR as technology chaos tears apart the Scottish game.
Referees boss Crawford Allan is quitting his post as fires rage over the system and SFA chief Ian Maxwell attempts to dull the flames. Civil war has broken out as managers and players fume at VAR decisions, officials are facing constant criticism for making them and fans are sickened by matches being ruined as they wait for those judgements to be made. Twelve months ago, the former General Secretary of Swedish Professional Football Leagues clearly warned of the dangers of using a system not fine-tuned.
Enquist outlined specifically to Record Sport why his country has said no to the technology. Sweden refuses to budge on their resistance to VAR with fans and clubs uninterested in accepting the stoppages, delays, lack of information and outbreaks of unnecessary controversy. Enquist was almost psychic as regards subsequent incidents in Scotland as he explained: “It’s opening up a new box of decisions and discussions. When is handball a handball?
“We had a decision here in the Euro Conference League when there was a free-kick outside the penalty box. “There was no doubt it was a free-kick, but then it was a VAR red card check. Looking from a slow motion perspective, it looked bad and he got the red card. But I started thinking, ‘How many situations on the pitch are equally the same?’ You could look at many tackles throughout the game and you could say 10 or 15 players would have been red carded.
“Suddenly you get two levels of how to decide things. It is not the technology. It is how you use it.”
Fast forward a year and the very examples Enquist gave still wreck the Scottish game. Enquist has now moved jobs and sports from football to golf and working in his new post as Honorary President at the PGA of Sweden. Reflecting on his comments from a year ago in light of Sweden’s solid stance in Sweden and continued anger in Scotland, he offered an intriguing proposal.
Enquist said last night: “The discussion in golf right now is to have a rollback on the balls and to reduce their performance. Could you have the same discussion on a rollback with VAR? That’s interesting. I have been working with golf a lot. It’s a very conservative sport in the sense that any rule changes take years and years to discuss what the impact is to the sport and how it affects different aspects of the sport.
“The day VAR does the same thing and takes away some of the flaws or irritation moments that affects the sport, it might be an option.”
Asked if Scotland should call a halt to VAR to iron out the issues, Enquist stated: “It is a national decision and I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to speak for anyone else. I wouldn’t dare to speak for another country, but in Sweden it’s a very definite no. We are waiting still. That’s the status right now.”
It’s not just managers and players that are irritated, but also fans. Sweden takes note of their supporters as, last year, Enquist explained: “You have to be able to implement it so you do not ruin the game itself.
“We are not much if we do not have our supporters with us. Then we are a poor sport. So I think it’s a valid question if the powers that be want to implement VAR. Everyone is supportive of trying to give the referees better tools. But the tools have to work in a way they do not ruin the perception of the match and the enjoyment of the fans.
“It has to be a support, but it cannot be something that changes football radically. So long as you haven’t solved the issue on how you can implement that technology so it doesn’t affect the game for the fans, then there will be quite a strong opposition to it for a long time.”
Kevin Clancy consults the VAR screen
Opinion amongst the punters in Sweden hasn’t changed and their clubs are listening by telling them they do not want it. Enquist continued: “It is quite a big opinion against VAR with the elite clubs and the fans.
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