The Blues can feel aggrieved after the bizarre events at Selhurst Park
To VAR, or Not to VAR
Yet again this season the officiating occupied centre stage at Selhurst Park, as Everton and Crystal Palace fought out a 0-0 stalemate in this FA Cup Third Round fixture. Not to say this game was exactly a classic spoiled by meddling officials – far from it – but it’s still galling to see the course of a match largely determined by what appear to be increasingly subjective, – not to mention intrusive – judgement calls from referees, particularly those not even physically present within the stadium. This is where we are in the World of Football, circa 2024 and I can’t say I’m particularly happy about it.
Like virtually everyone, I grew up watching football with all of its many imperfections, as an essentially chaotic sport, full of ebbs and flows and nuanced, difficult-to-assess situations. The referee and linesmen (now assistant) regulated the game, making their own subjective interpretations, sometimes getting decisions wrong, occasionally being way off and causing plenty of discontent and feelings of injustice amongst aggrieved fans along the way. But, for all the imperfection the officiating was an organic part of what is an imperfect activity, inherently flawed by its very nature. And in that, there was a certain acceptance from fans.
Unfortunately, in an attempt to strive for perfection, the authorities have set off in search of El Dorado and it’s apparent that they are going to end up as empty-handed as the ancient conquistadors. Except, instead of going mad, wandering off and dying in South American jungles, PGMOL are causing increasing numbers of fans to become disenchanted with the supposed advances derived from the increased use of technology in the game, specifically that of the video assistant referee (VAR). Almost nobody is against eliminating on the pitch errors, that’s a given. But at what cost? And are we perceptively getting closer to perfectly-officiated football matches? I’m not seeing it.
In a high-profile Thursday evening tie on free TV in the UK , which kicked off the entry of Premier League clubs into the FA Cup competition – and consequently with some eyes on it – the officials managed to blow it quite spectacularly. Christ Kavanagh, ostensibly the man in charge of proceedings in South London, called Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s innocuous tackle on Nathaniel Clyne as fair; a reasonable interpretation shared by most in the stadium and watching from afar – as would the simple call of a foul. Nobody would dispute either judgement. VAR official Craig Pawson saw something different however and after an interminable delay directed the match referee, who’d been yards away from the incident – unlike Pawson – to the video booth.
Now, we all know what comes next and it’s a sign of where we are at with VAR in this country that there was virtually zero chance that Kavanagh would back his own verdict. Rather than simply providing assistance to the on the field referee, it’s actually the remote official who is making the big decisions in the game. The guy running around on the pitch? He’s a proxy, there to make the mundane calls. At this point, the authority of the referee is neutered to such a degree we may as well do away with the pretence and just run the whole thing from Stockley Park. Or, preferably, if PGMOL can’t implement the technology correctly, bin the whole sad, flaccid, discredited enterprise.
Keeping It Simple
The game itself was no great shakes, as regards goalmouth action, or moments of breath-taking skill, although I’ve certainly seen worse. As a spectacle it wasn’t a borefest and managed to maintain my attention throughout – as an interested party – though I’m not sure what numbers broadcaster ITV did domestically with neutrals. For a Third Round FA Cup tie played midweek it was alright and honestly, expecting much more from a pair of sides who’d played a combined 17 games over the previous month was probably optimistic.
In the wacky world of football scheduling, Palace and the Blues only had three games apiece pencilled in for January (one more now, due to the replay), so if you can figure the sense in that, I salute you. It’s no surprise, then that this wasn’t a classic, but both sides gave it what they could. The visitors were in their familiar 4-5-1 shape, following an abortive effort at playing out of a back five during last weekend’s demoralizing 3-0 walloping by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Sean Dyche implied that the formation wasn’t a problem at Molineux, but it was noticeable how much more comfortable Everton were on Thursday.
The Eagles rarely troubled the defense and Amadou Onana and James Garner took control of the midfield early on, generally bossed proceedings until the team were reduced to ten men. Eberechi Eze, who’d been the standout player during the league fixture played between the two clubs back in November, was easily negated. Everton’s back four was rock solid, everyone was in synch, and unlike against Wolves the team was able to press effectively from out of a familiar structure.
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