00:00I have been a staunchbacker of VAR since its inception. I still do believe that it's fundamentally
00:04a good idea and it makes complete sense to use the huge amount of broadcast technology to help
00:08us referee a game. Every other sport does it and does it well. But I'm no longer sure that football
00:13is ready for VAR. This season has been rife with controversy, inconsistency and, in the case of
00:18Old Trafford on Sunday, incompetency. Football is an imperfect game and VAR has never claimed to be
00:23the antidote for that, but it is not exactly helping at the moment. My main issue, however,
00:27is not about VAR. It's about the conversation around it. It is all we talk about. Every single
00:34game. Arsenal win 2-0 against Sunderland. We see two moments of brilliance from Riot and Gimeraj. And
00:38what's the headline? Sunderland shouldn't have had their penalty. Arsenal are talking to pro ref about
00:42it. The ref's got it wrong. Man City put on a clinic at Old Trafford with 10 men. Illiman and
00:46Jai
00:47changes the game. Elliot Anderson wins the midfield battle literally single-handedly. United offer
00:51nothing throughout the game. The headline, the VAR error. We are stuck in a cycle. Everyone moans
00:56about it and hates it because everyone loves to moan about it and hates it. It's becoming an easy
01:00cop-out if you lose and a show of solidarity and grace if you win. It's a common enemy which
01:04is
01:04uniting football fans and is only getting worse. I don't hate VAR. I hate the fact that it's all
01:09that anyone talks about. We, as fans, decide the discourse. Refereeing in VAR dominates it because
01:14we choose that. It's not a case of FVAR. It's FVAR being all we talk about. Let's stop and remember
01:21why we watch football.
