VAR is ruining soccer. I say ban it
What’s the purpose of a soccer game? It’s the moment a goal is scored. That ecstatic instant when everyone rises in unison to their feet, held by the primal bonds of human passion and connection. That’s the moment athletes play for and the reason fans attend. As described by Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly in their book, All Things Shining , “Something so overpowering happens that it wells…
The video assistant referee, or VAR, has become a controversial addition to soccer. Introduced to the English Premier League in 2019, it aims to make the game more fair. However, it has disrupted the very essence of the sport that fans love. VAR substitutes one subjective call for another by reviewing key decisions in a remote booth, causing on-field delays as goals are automatically reviewed.
This bureaucratic absurdity takes away from the raw adrenaline and shared joy that make the game so special. Wayne Rooney, a legend of Manchester United, has expressed his disgust with VAR, stating that it takes all the emotion out of the game. VAR disrupts the communal catalyst of sport that unites people across social, economic, and political divides.
It's time to ban VAR and return to the pure, ecstatic moments of celebration that make soccer so special.
Written by urgent.news from Fast Company's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
