The Premier League HAS To Fix This..

FourFourTwo

With so much at stake, the new Premier League season has to get off to a good start and with new rules entering the picture - there's one thing that the Premier League really has to fix! PapaPincus is here to go deep into the consequences of VAR.

Transcript

00:00Boy oh boy, the season is just around the corner.

00:03Fresh tactics, new signings, managerial reshuffles.

00:07But one thing clubs can't change themselves

00:09could still be the defining factor of their success or failure.

00:14And that is officiating.

00:16PGMOL simply have to get it right this year

00:19or things could get very ugly.

00:21Papa Pinker's here with 442.

00:23Let's talk about it.

00:27Now look, over the course of a season,

00:29mistakes happen.

00:30Players, managers, officials, fans, the lot.

00:34We are human.

00:35It's in our nature to get things wrong sometimes.

00:38And I can deal with one mistake.

00:39Two, perhaps.

00:41Three, fair.

00:42Four, I'm getting a bit worried.

00:44Five, I'm deeply concerned.

00:4618 mistakes is inexcusable.

00:4918.

00:50That's how many VAR errors there were last season.

00:54Down from 31 the previous season,

00:56a 42% drop in wrong calls.

00:58Progress.

00:59No, that is still an unforgivable amount.

01:0318 is still 18 moments where a team had been robbed,

01:06momentum was broken,

01:07and the club's future was altered.

01:0918 moments that should have been impossible

01:12in a league with the resources,

01:14the funding, the technology,

01:15and the reputation of the Premier League.

01:18What I don't think is taken into account

01:20is the magnitude of what these errors can lead to.

01:23One small decision changes the whole trajectory

01:26of a football club.

01:28For example, let me take you back

01:29to the last game of the season.

01:31Man United versus Aston Villa.

01:33A huge game for Villa.

01:35A win for them would secure a Champions League spot.

01:3873 minutes on the clock,

01:40Oli Watkins scores to put them 1-0 up.

01:43Or so he thought.

01:44VAR deemed it as a foul on the keeper.

01:46No, it wasn't.

01:47The keeper lost control of the ball.

01:49Watkins slotted it home,

01:51fair and square.

01:52United going on to win the game.

01:532-0,

01:54and Villa miss out on Champions League football.

01:56No beating around the bush.

01:58That is disgusting.

02:00Every goal Villa scored that season,

02:02every win,

02:03everything they did in hopes of securing CL footy,

02:06completely taken away from them by poor officiating.

02:08And think about the butterfly effect

02:10that one decision has,

02:12not just for Villa,

02:13but for the sport.

02:15For example,

02:16let's say that goal stands.

02:17Villa qualify for the Champions League

02:19and Newcastle don't.

02:20Does that mean ESAC joins Liverpool early doors?

02:23Would they have even gone for Eketike in the first place then?

02:26Maybe they could have made a move for Giocherez or Sesco instead,

02:29changing Arsenal and Man United's whole future.

02:31United lose that game and finish 16th.

02:34Would Ameren have got the sack?

02:35Would they then have signed Cunha and Mbwemo if that was the case?

02:39Look, of course,

02:40those are all what-ifs,

02:41but it just goes to show how these decisions matter more

02:44than we can even comprehend.

02:46Now, it's fair to say,

02:47a lot of people have completely lost all faith in VAR.

02:51And can you really blame them?

02:53When it came in,

02:54VAR was sold to us like it was some sort of football messiah.

02:57The end of injustice.

02:59The cure for all those what-if moments we'd argue about

03:02down the pub for decades.

03:03No more diving,

03:04no more handballs,

03:06no more ghost goals.

03:07Finally,

03:08football would get what it deserved.

03:10The truth.

03:11Instead,

03:12we've ended up with a Frankenstein's monster of a system

03:15that manages to be both painfully slow

03:17and still wrong.

03:19And that's the killer.

03:20People could forgive the odd mistake

03:22when it was just the ref's eyes

03:23against the pace of the game.

03:25But now,

03:26now we've got 76 camera angles,

03:29freeze frames,

03:30perfect lines on screens,

03:32technology worth millions.

03:34And somehow these mistakes still happen far too often.

03:38So what happens?

03:39Trust erodes.

03:40Fans roll their eyes before the decision's even been made.

03:43Players celebrate with half the conviction

03:45because they're waiting for the inevitable

03:47checking possible offence graphic.

03:50Managers are left disgusted in press conferences,

03:53not just at the injustice,

03:54but at the absurd theater of it all.

03:57It's embarrassing.

03:58It's a disgrace.

04:00That's what it is,

04:01a disgrace.

04:02VAR was meant to bring clarity,

04:04but instead,

04:05it's introduced a fog.

04:07The cameras don't decide when to intervene.

04:09The software doesn't choose

04:11whether it's a clear and obvious error or not.

04:13Every single call still comes down

04:15to the human sat in that booth.

04:17Headset on,

04:18eyes flicking between replays,

04:20making a judgment

04:21that can change the fate of a season.

04:24And I just hope they get it right this time around.

04:26The fans,

04:27players and pundits alike

04:28proudly call the Premier League

04:30the best league in the world.

04:32So we need the same from the officials.

04:35As a fan that watches every game I can,

04:37week in,

04:38week out,

04:38last season felt

04:39like the talking point of each game

04:41wasn't the goals,

04:42wasn't the tactics,

04:43wasn't the drama,

04:45it was the decisions.

04:46The entertainment value last season

04:48plummeted in my opinion.

04:49Stoppages every two minutes.

04:52The pace of the game

04:53was completely and utterly destroyed.

04:55And it came to a point

04:56where I felt like

04:57PGMOL were more worried

04:59about not getting the decision wrong

05:01than actually getting it right,

05:02if that makes any sense,

05:03which isn't where they want to be either.

05:05Some of the most clear and obvious decisions

05:07were taking far too long to make

05:10because they knew

05:11the pressure was on them.

05:13And here's the thing,

05:13VAR has been around

05:15for seven years now.

05:16Seven.

05:17I think we should have a grip of it by now.

05:19Everyone in that booth

05:20needs to know their role,

05:22know the laws of the game,

05:24and most importantly,

05:25have the bottle

05:26to make the big calls

05:27quickly and confidently.

05:29Maybe the new laws introduced this season

05:31will help,

05:32but more about those in a second.

05:34This is how VAR should work.

05:36Look at Sheffield United

05:37in the Championship playoff final.

05:39Harrison Burrows smashes one in,

05:42Wembley's bouncing,

05:43looks like they've gone 2-0 up

05:44before half-time.

05:46But VAR steps in,

05:47spots an offside in the build-up,

05:49and the goal is ruled out.

05:50That's a season-changing moment

05:52handled properly.

05:54Without that intervention,

05:55Sunderland are staring down

05:56a two-goal deficit

05:57in a game that decides

05:59who gets promoted.

06:00And that's not just bragging rights,

06:02that's tens of millions

06:03in prize money,

06:04broadcast revenue,

06:05sponsorships,

06:06and potential signings.

06:07I mean, look at this window,

06:09Sunderland and Evade.

06:10They've signed Granit Xhaka,

06:11for God's sake.

06:12One correct call

06:12literally reshapes the future

06:14of both clubs.

06:16That's the power of VAR

06:17when it's done right.

06:18It protects not just one result,

06:20but the integrity

06:21of the entire sport.

06:23It keeps the game honest,

06:24it keeps the playing field level,

06:26and it makes sure

06:27the biggest moments

06:28are decided by skill,

06:30not luck,

06:30or human error.

06:31This is the version of VAR

06:33we all signed up for.

06:35Quick, accurate,

06:36and game-defining

06:37for the right reasons.

06:39VAR can work.

06:41We've seen it.

06:42We've seen it save seasons,

06:43stop injustice.

06:45The problem is,

06:46it just doesn't do it often enough.

06:48Which is why

06:49we need to be looking at ways

06:50to take as much

06:51of the human error out

06:52as possible next season.

06:54And the next big step

06:55is semi-automated offsides.

06:58But in all seriousness,

06:59look,

06:59we've seen how it works

07:00in the Champions League

07:01and the World Cup.

07:03Lovely and quick,

07:04nice and precise.

07:05The call made in seconds,

07:07not three hours.

07:08No drawn-out freeze frames,

07:10no dodgy lines

07:11being dragged across the screen

07:12like a kid on Microsoft Paint.

07:14It's clean,

07:15it's clear,

07:16and it's consistent.

07:17Now it's coming to the Prem,

07:19we can instantly remove

07:21one of the biggest VAR pain points.

07:23Those two working-day,

07:25endless offside checks

07:26that completely killed

07:27the atmosphere.

07:28And still,

07:29somehow spark controversy.

07:31Semi-automated offsides

07:33is huge

07:34for the Premier League.

07:35And speaking of changes,

07:37one thing that continues

07:38to grind my gears

07:39and has to change for me,

07:41a second yellow

07:42leading to a red

07:43can't be overturned.

07:45Why?

07:46Why on God's green earth

07:47is that a rule?

07:49The FA's excuse

07:49is that yellow cards

07:50are subjective decisions.

07:52So they don't want to set

07:53a precedent

07:54of reviewing every single one.

07:56Fine.

07:56But the second yellow

07:57isn't just a yellow,

07:59it's a red.

07:59It's a suspension.

08:01It's ten men

08:01playing uphill

08:02for the rest of the game.

08:04When there's clear

08:04and obvious evidence

08:05that the second booking

08:06was soft,

08:07mistaken,

08:08or just simply wrong,

08:09it's mental

08:10that nothing can be done

08:11about it.

08:12The technology's there.

08:13The replays are there.

08:15The common sense

08:16apparently isn't.

08:17Change it immediately.

08:19And while we're fixing rules

08:21for the love of football,

08:22can we please make

08:24the handball law

08:25something everyone

08:26actually understands?

08:27Was the arm

08:28in a natural position?

08:29Did it make the body

08:30unnaturally bigger?

08:32Did it deflect off

08:33another body part first?

08:34Was the ball travelling

08:35at 62.3 miles an hour

08:37from two feet away?

08:39Every referee seems

08:40to have a different

08:40interpretation.

08:41And every time IFAB

08:43clarifies it,

08:44they actually make it worse.

08:46Fans are not idiots.

08:47If they can't predict

08:48the call from a replay,

08:49the rule is broken,

08:51not their understanding of it.

08:52We need one clear,

08:54fixed definition of handball

08:55that works from Sunday league

08:57to the World Cup final.

08:59And then we need

08:59to stick to it.

09:00No tweets every six months.

09:02No interpretation loopholes.

09:04Just the law everyone.

09:06Players, coaches, referees,

09:08and the fans

09:09know inside out.

09:11Right, now I'm going to stop

09:12before I get 4-4-2

09:13in big trouble.

09:15But the be all and end all is

09:16they simply have to get it

09:18right this year.

09:19Please, enough

09:20with the endless stoppages,

09:22the theatre,

09:23the paralysis by analysis.

09:25Bring back the fast-paced,

09:27heart-in-mouth Premier League

09:28we all fell in love with.

09:30The one decided on the pitch,

09:32not off of it.

09:33Mistakes will happen.

09:34We are human.

09:35But if VAR is here to stay,

09:37then it has to be sharper,

09:39quicker, braver.

09:40Semi-automated offsides,

09:42clear rules,

09:43accountability for officials,

09:45all of it.

09:45Do that and maybe,

09:47just maybe,

09:48we'll spend this season

09:49talking about goals,

09:51glory,

09:51and the great football.

09:53Comment down below

09:53which rule you think

09:54should be changed,

09:55added,

09:56or removed.

09:57I'd be very interested

09:57to read those.

09:59Thank you all for watching.

10:00Till next week.

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