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Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has voiced his frustration with VAR’s decision-making process, complaining that it is not quick enough.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system was inducted into the English Premier League in the 2019-20 season. Since then, every major footballing league has adopted the system. VAR can play a major role in ruling out illegitimate goals or spot fouls in the build-up, things that are difficult for on-field officials to spot.
Henry is on-board with the application of VAR in football but believes the system needs a lot of fine-tuning, especially when it comes to speed. Speaking about the system, the 1998 World Cup winner said (via the Daily Mail):
“In football we're still behind, we have so much to learn. 'What I can see in American football, in rugby, in cricket or whatever it is, tennis, it's instant. We also know that the referee will give you an explanation, they have a microphone, they talk. Obviously, in tennis, are you going to battle with the decision of the computer? If you start to do that, then you're in trouble.”
Henry continued:
“With VAR, what I get annoyed with is it's not quick enough. Then it's still the decision of someone in a truck or wherever they are, because it's not VAR that makes the decision, VAR is just there to recall the situation."
He added:
“And then the man in the truck will call to the referee to say you made a mistake or you didn't make a mistake. Sometimes they help, yes, sometimes they help, no, but I can also understand that a human being can make a mistake.”
He also talked about the recently introduced semi-automatic offside system in the Champions League, once again iterating the importance of speed.
Henry added:
“[Semi-automated offside] in the Champions League, for me, as long as it's quick, as long as it's quick and we have an explanation, I can see that the player was offside, you move on. What's annoying is when you get lost in translation, when someone tells you something, another one, the rule changes the week after, it can become tough. We have a lot to learn in football.”
Thierry Henry believes VAR decisions slow down a game’s momentum
VAR minutely checks every goal for offside, fouls in the build-up, and more. So, when a player scores, they do not know for sure whether or not their goal will stand. They need to wait for the all-clear from VAR before celebrating their goal.
VAR can take a long time to come to a decision, which, according to Henry, hampers the flow of the game. Explaining how it kills the joy of the game, the former Barcelona striker said:
“What we want to see is the game going on. Another thing that's very difficult for me is I used to score goals as a player. Sometimes [now] you don't even know if you need to jump. Am I jumping? Am I celebrating? Am I not celebrating? It kills the beat of the joy of the game.”
