These are not the statistics that will change the course of the history of the rules of the game. But they have at least the merit of existing and of bringing grist to the mill of each camp… especially, in this case, to VAR supporters. The Professional Football League drew up, this Tuesday, the balance sheet from video assistance to refereeing on Ligue 1 lawns in 2022-2023.
These figures are based on data collected by the Technical Arbitration Department. It shows that 83% of the 138 “clear errors” detected by the authorities during the year could be corrected, according to the DTA, thanks to the use of VAR. This is a marked increase in the rate since the appearance of this technology (68% in 2018-2019, 75% in 2021-2022). Although critics will say that there are still “24 clear errors” that have not been fixed.
32 goals disallowed by VAR, 25 for offside not whistled
We also learn that this assistance is increasingly present per day (3.3 interventions per L1 weekend, against 2.6 last season) but with a slightly optimized intervention time (101 seconds against 104). At the end of the 38 days of the championship, the VAR will have granted 34 penalties, will have canceled 11, and validated 19 goals in the game against 32 refused. 25 of those 32 goals were disallowed for offside positions.
Beyond these figures, it should be remembered that the season was once again marred by numerous arbitration controversies. Olympique de Marseille and Racing Club de Lens were among the most virulent. The Bloods and Gold did not hesitate to mock referee Benoît Bastien last February in a video compilation broadcast on social networks.
Handballs in the box are the subject of the greatest confusion. Week after week, these situations, whistled or not from one referee to another, call out and raise questions. Whistlers generally award the penalty without questioning the intention of the player to put the hand.
