VAR: Five ways to improve football's video-assisted revolution

#2 Build in tolerance for human error on ‘factual’ calls

Netherlands v England - UEFA Nations League Semi-Final

This, admittedly, is the most controversial of these suggestions.

Whereas there are many grey areas in footballing officiating due to the subjective nature of the laws, this is based around binary calls, which can be proven using video cameras.

Offside is one such situation: either a player is offside or they aren’t. There is no middle ground.

Was the purpose of VAR’s implementation really to judge that Jesse Lingard’s big toe rendered him offside after he had scored what he thought was the goal to fire England into the Nations League final by defeating the Netherlands?

It seems pedantic to suggest it was.

Such marginal calls – being made literally by millimetres – are littering the modern game.

A case in point arrived in the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday when France’s Wendie Renard saw her late penalty against Nigeria rattle off the post. The French captain turned away disappointed only to be given an improbable reprieve when the referee immediately put her finger to her earpiece and pointed to the spot again.

The reason? Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie had not been on her line when the kick was struck. Replays showed that she had indeed strayed, though her back foot was perhaps an inch away from it.

No-one had seen it and no-one had claimed for it but the stickler for the rules in the video operation room.

Scotland similarly suffered 24 hours later against Argentina, with their keeper a similarly meaningless amount over her goal line. Both teams were eliminated as the second kicks were scored.

Although FIFA had previously stressed it would be enforcing this law to a greater extent during the competition, the use of it now seems draconian.

The laws of the game should be in place to uphold the spirit of the game and ensure the safety of the players.

This draconian interpretation of the law seems to satisfy only pedants and penalty takers.

If cricket can build in a tolerance for error in LBW decisions, perhaps football should look at doing the same for the finest of calls.