VAR SIDE
Having been trialled and subsequently rolled out in assorted football competitions around the globe for well over a year now, VAR has proved an undeniable success. Introduced to eliminate tedious bickering over questionable decisions made (or not made) by football referees, it has got people bickering even more tediously over questionable decisions made (or not made) by VAR instead. Like the match officials it was brought in to assist, VAR has proved far from infallible but tends to get considerably more decisions right than wrong. Its main drawback seems to revolve around the state of less-than-blissful ignorance in which match-going fans are left during the sometimes lengthy breaks in play when those decisions are being made. Breaks when – like The Fiver watching a David Lynch boxset – they are left with little or no clue what the hell is going on.
Of course this ongoing contempt for the ticket-buying public is nothing new in football and the Germans have finally had enough. Increasingly viewed as paying extras for lavish TV productions to be sold in foreign territories, fans of assorted Bundesliga clubs staged a silent protest for the first 20 minutes of their midweek round of fixtures. At Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion, for example, a capacity crowd sat in total silence in protest at the German Football Federation’s (DFB) current stand-off with various supporter groups.
Taking their lead from the Premier League, where capacity crowds habitually congregate in spooky silence for the entire duration of games, the Germans were making their voices unheard over gripes about Monday night fixtures, increasingly early kick-off times and the lack of VAR-related information provided to fans who actually attend games. Assorted fans’ groups claim the DFB have paid little more than lip service and sealed its own lips accordingly. The game, they say, has been “torn even further away from its cultural and social roots and gutted on the altar of profit and greed”.
Among the high priests regularly found on football’s altar of profit and greed is Uefa, who on Thursday announced that VAR will be rolled out in Big Cup from next season. “We’re confident that introducing VAR in August 2019 will give us enough time to put in place a robust system and to train match officials to ensure an efficient, successful implementation of VAR in [Big Cup], the world’s flagship club competition,” droned Uefa grand camembert Aleksander Ceferin. Whether the robustness of this system will extend to keeping paying punters in the loop remains to be seen, but The Fiver’s not holding its breath.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’ve received much from Manchester. Over the past decade I’ve been lucky to have witnessed and played a part in Manchester City’s rise as a club and a brand. However, with this spectacular rise, comes a very visible downside: more and more people are left out of and have no access to the benefits of the rapid development, often leaving them no choice but to end up on the streets” – Vincent Kompany says he will donate all the money made from his testimonial season to help the homeless in Manchester.
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FIVER LETTERS
“To all overexcited Chelsea fans: no, Hazard’s goal isn’t going to win this year’s Puskas award. The ‘Moreno’ clause means it can’t even be entered into the competition, unfortunately” – Tim Woods.
“‘Which football kits have manufactured their own kits?’ asked Wednesday’s Fiver in its link to the latest Knowledge article. The headline of that Knowledge article is ‘Which football clubs have manufactured their own kits?’ I’m not complaining about inaccuracy in The Fiver. (Oh, I know better than that.) I’m just stunned you didn’t take the lazy option to copy and paste. What happened? A burst of energy from an early Tin?” – Brendan Mac Carron (and 1,056 others).
“The link in Wednesday’s Fiver to the piece which questioned style over substance got me thinking. Given, according to goalkeeper Petr Cech, Arsenal are now playing a more robust, abrasive style of football, will the new manager’s team sheets from now on be known as Emery Paper?” – Chris Brock.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Chris Brock.
BITS AND BOBS
He will be able to face His former club Manchester United for Juventus next month after Uefa opted not to extend His Big Cup ban.
Wembley is one step closer to being flogged off.
Ross Barkley reckons the form Eden Hazard is in at the moment puts him up there with Lionel Messi and Him. “He is capable of producing magic at any moment in the game,” said Barkley, clutching a string of flags the Belgian had pulled from his sleeve while taking a corner.
Germany has dusted off its etiquette guides after being unveiled as the host of Euro 2024.
Christian Eriksen is out of Tottenham’s trip to Huddersfield on Saturday with abdomen-twang.
Sergio Busquets has signed a new contract at Barcelona, with his release clause bumped up to an eye-watering €500m (£445m).
STILL WANT MORE?
Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea are a match for Liverpool but N’Golo Kanté poses a midfield puzzle, reckons floating brain in a jar Jonathan Wilson.
Bundesliga fans gave the DFB the silent treatment during Englische Woche but then Dortmund brought the noise, writes Andy Brassell.
Paul Wilson ponders the power vacuum at Old Trafford that has led to the current Squabble of the Superstars.
Genoa’s goal machine Krzysztof Piatek is proving the Serie A bargain of the season, writes Paolo Bandini.
You want Sid? You’ve got Sid.
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