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#2 VAR
Looking at the Statistics produced at this World Cup, you could make a case that VAR has had a positive impact. The number of red cards per game at this World Cup (0.06) is the lowest it’s been since the year 1986 when there hadn’t been a single red card given out at this stage of the tournament.
The average number of off-sides per game has also hit an all-time low. The 2.81 average off-sides per game at this World Cup is the lowest average in FIFA World Cup history. The previous lowest average was 3.13 which was set at the 1966 World Cup.
The percentage of goals scored from a set piece is also considerably higher than the last World Cup. 55.3% of goals at the 2018 FIFA World Cup have come from a set piece. This is up 25% when compared to the World Cup 4 years ago.
While these stats may be viewed as a positive, there are some potential negative statistics surrounding VAR. The number of penalties per game is at its highest since the World Cup in 1966. The 0.56 penalties handed out per game at this World Cup is an astronomical jump from the previous 2 World Cups where penalties per game averaged a mere 0.06.
Despite these statistics, I feel the biggest impact of VAR cannot be measured with numbers. The greatest thing in sport is a late winner in a football match. The sheer ecstasy a stoppage-time goal creates cannot be topped by anything else in the sport.
This is where I disagree with the use of VAR. In this World Cup, instead of letting emotion take over from the site of the ball at the back of the net everyone must wait. Celebrations must be contained until VAR has its say. In my opinion, VAR is ruining the greatest part of football. Is VAR here to stay in world football? Who knows.
