Andy Robertson has said that because of VAR, players and fans should fall in love with football and ex-professionals should be tasked with reviewing its implementation.
The Liverpool defender was implicated in the latest VAR incident that cost them on Saturday when his foul on Danny Welbeck Brighton equalized from the penalty spot.
It was the eighth VAR review against Liverpool this season that prompted James Milner to tweet after the game: “We need a serious discussion on VAR. Sure, I’m not alone in feeling that you are falling in love with the game in its current state. “
Robertson believes Milner’s opinion has been widespread throughout the game and that football at VAR in its current form could lead to reluctance. The Scottish captain said: “It affects the players, but the whole game.
“I loved going to games and being in the moment when I was able to score a goal. That is taken out of the game a bit. Now wait two or three minutes to see if an offside or offside goal is scored and if it’s that tight for me, leave it to the decision that was originally made. There are a lot of things you can go through, but Milly’s tweet reflected what a lot of footballers and fans are feeling.
“A lot of the people I’ve talked to don’t enjoy football as much as they used to because it’s under constant review, constantly on a screen, and you still don’t get the consistency we’re looking for. I agree with Milly. Many footballers and many fans would also agree with him.
“Football is a great game that we fell in love with and that we are still in love with, and it’s important that we don’t lose it. I am all for change and we have to move with the times, but it is important to remember the key values in football that made us fall in love with it. “
Robertson believes that a group of former professionals from across the sport should review the use of VAR and the various rule changes such as handball that have created widespread confusion and controversy this season. “Perhaps ex-footballers, ex-managers and ex-referees should be involved in some of the decisions that are taking place now,” said the Liverpool left-back.
“In the past 18 months to two years, the rules have changed a lot, especially in England. Kevin De Bruyne said the other day that he is no longer sure of the rules and we can all repeat that. When VAR came in we believed there wouldn’t be any gray areas, it would all be black and white, and I don’t think we fully understand that now.
“I have no problem if my duel on Saturday is a penalty. If the rules and the referee consider this a penalty, I have no problem with it. But I saw games yesterday and saw two very similar cases with Marcus Rashford and Adama Traoré that went unpunished. They looked very much like what I did to Danny Welbeck. Both were no punishment and mine was. All three must be a penalty or all three were not penalties. We’re just looking for consistency. We believed we would get that with VAR and we don’t get it. If we are still discussing the referees’ decisions after VAR, I prefer to leave that to the referee’s naked eye. It’s much easier to accept bugs with the naked eye than when there is so much technology out there. “
Liverpool hosts Ajax in Tuesday’s Champions League need a point to qualify for the knockout stage. Jürgen Klopp has to do without Milner after joining a long list of injuries with a thigh injury in Brighton. The manager has confirmed Thiago Alcântara is “weeks” away from returning from his knee injury against Everton on October 17th.
Klopp said, “Nothing has been broken and nothing has been broken and that means everyone thinks, ‘OK, you can walk again after a few days,’ but the impact on the leg was so great that it is still not okay . I can’t say exactly when he’ll be fine, but with Thiago it will be a few more weeks. “
Liverpool will submit a planning application to Liverpool City Council this week to add 7,000 seats to the Anfield Road stand. Plans, which would increase Anfield’s total capacity to 61,000, were put on hold in April because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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