Big decisions went against Manchester United and West Ham this weekend that technology would've fixed – but England's top-flight needs more than VAR
VAR is by no means a popular piece of technology. Throughout its integration into football over the last few years, it feels like it has caused more controversy than it has solved problems, with there strong calls for its total abolition, even, in recent times. But despite all the commotion, this past weekend has seen desire for its implementation in England’s Women’s Super League grow further.
On Sunday, relegation-threatened West Ham thought they had equalised against champions Chelsea with a well-worked goal that ended in Honoka Hayashi cleverly finishing past Hannah Hampton. Yet, though the Japan star was at least a clear yard onside, the assistant’s flag ruled it out.
After the Hammers’ eventual 2-0 defeat, manager Rehanne Skinner did not mince her words. "It's not good enough,” she told. “The bottom line is, if that's how I operated in my job, I wouldn't be in my job. A lot of people are talking about VAR and things like that, and if that's what we need to do to get results right, then that's what we need to do.”
Manchester United boss Marc Skinner was pondering the same possibility just 24 hours earlier. The Red Devils were eventually soundly beaten by rivals Man City on Saturday, but the goal that broke the deadlock, after United had started the better of the two, should have been ruled out for a clear offside.
“It’s a question isn’t it?” he said, asked about the prospect of VAR. “It’s hard. Of course it would affect this actual decision and in other games, I’m sure, other decisions. I just don’t think it can stand, a goal like that. It’s a derby. It’s a huge, huge game. The first goal swung the momentum Manchester City had going into the end of the first half – momentum when they didn’t have any. I felt they played within their shells until that goal. The cliché is ‘goals change games’ and it definitely did in this case.”
But while VAR would have rectified these two particular errors, and many others, it is not the long-term solution to the officiating issues the WSL is facing.
Bigger issue at hand
Before any conversations about VAR, the WSL has to address the fact that its officials are all still part-time. While these officials are extremely dedicated to their roles and very professional in their application, it’s difficult for anyone to be the very best at a job that they are not working on a full-time basis.
That is where the focus has to be when it comes to this issue. Rehanne Skinner highlighted as much on Sunday, stating that the lack of professionalism “has just got to change”, and Izzy Christiansen, the former England midfielder on punditry for for West Ham’s defeat to Chelsea, agreed.
“I think the investment and energy needs to go elsewhere, developing the officials in order to give them the opportunity to flourish professionally,” Christiansen said. “They need to become better equipped to make better decisions on the pitch. The more professionalism and training that is given, the better the decisions will become. It's a difficult one, but I'm not for VAR coming in yet. I want more professionalism for the officials.”
AdvertisementGetty'Ludicrous' and 'embarrassing'
There are other steps for the WSL to take, too. After all, the league doesn’t even have goal-line technology yet, something which has been in use in the men’s game for 10 years now. Its implementation has been extremely successful, and Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has called its lack of use in the women’s game “embarrassing”.
Hayes made those comments after Guro Reiten was denied a goal against Tottenham earlier this season, even though the ball clearly crossed the line. "I want to know, why are we not investing in [technology]?" she asked after the game. "That has to be put to the board who make the decisions. It's embarrassing.
"If this is the Premier League of women's football, the top level, we've already proven we can have VAR-lite, we had it at Kingsmeadow [the home of Chelsea’s women’s team] in a pre-season game. We need [goal-line technology] – it's ludicrous. We had it at the World Cup. We had it in the FA Cup final but not the semi-finals."
GettyInconsistencies
That inconsistency is another problem the women’s game faces. Often, things like VAR and goal-line technology can be in use sporadically, particularly in the latter stages of knockout competitions when games are regularly staged in bigger, showcase stadiums.
But even in the elite competitions like the Champions League, the rules around technology are not consistent enough. Last season, after Arsenal thought they had equalised away at Bayern Munich, it was revealed that goal-line technology is not a mandatory requirement in the competition, but instead an optional one. So while VAR was in use at the Allianz Arena, goal-line technology was not.
“Today, goal-line technology was not in use because Bayern Munich chose not to pay for it,” Gunners boss Jonas Eidevall explained. “When we go to the Emirates next week, Arsenal choose to pay for goal-line technology because we think that’s the right thing to do to ensure a fair competition.
“I think it’s a problem for the competition that not every game has the same level of technology in helping the officials take the right decisions. It’s not Bayern’s fault. It’s within their rights to take that decision, but I think we can all agree it’s very weird that you play at a level in the competition and all of a sudden it comes down to the host club whether you’re going to fund technology that is going to be used by both teams.”
While this was an issue specific to the Champions League, it highlights the inconsistency across the board that clubs in England, in Europe and beyond experience in the women’s game.
GettyPlenty to consider
Stadia and its ability to have goal-line technology and VAR is also a factor. With many women’s teams playing at smaller stadiums throughout the season, often the homes of lower-division or even non-league men’s clubs, the WSL would probably need to adapt to implement technology in some arenas.
That is where something like VAR-lite would be needed, as Hayes mentioned being used at Kingsmeadow, as opposed to the version used at the top level in the men’s game. How effective would that be on a regular basis? To answer the question would be to speculate, but it would have to be a product worth using, one that could make a positive impact and provide adequate support to the officials.
If those officials were full-time, they would also be able to train to use a technology like VAR more, too. That is another problem. When VAR was brought into the Women’s World Cup in 2019, many officials were using it for the first time and, as a result, made errors even with it there to support them. It all goes back to giving the officials the time to hone their craft.