David Preece: Rugby isn't as good or popular as football but there is one thing to take from their game in a bid to cure VAR controversy

We often hear the old trope “Why can’t footballers be more like Rugby players?”
A VAR decision is displayed on the big screen as they check a penalty during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium.A VAR decision is displayed on the big screen as they check a penalty during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium.
A VAR decision is displayed on the big screen as they check a penalty during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium.

And there’s a simple answer to that; It’s because, quite simply, Rugby isn’t as good or as popular as football.

That’s not a dig at the sport of the oval ball, just facts. It’s brilliant when England do well as they did recently at the World Cup in Japan, and there is massive uproar when they pretend to be injured and chew fake blood capsules or break the wage cap, but in between it’s a tame old affair. In comparison to football that is.

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That’s not to say I don’t admire the sport and its athletes, especially those in the modern game, but as a player I always tired of the comparisons, dragging us down as if rugby players were angels. But if we are to draw comparisons and take something from their game, it’s in the officiating.

I realise I’m not saying anything new here myself, but if there was ever a time in football that screamed for some clarity and explanation, it’s now.

If we’re going to have VAR, let’s have full transparency. Let us hear the conversations between the officials in front of the screen and those on the pitch. Let us hear why they have come to their decision.

That has to be one of the reasons why there is little frustration shown by rugby players, because they are made to understand why the referee has come to their decision.

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Yeah, it may take a little longer but so what? What else have you got better to do than be at the game?

To those who moan and say “We’ll end up with two hour matches!”, I say “Why wouldn’t you want football matches to last longer?”.

Why wouldn’t you want more game time for your money? You could draw it out as long as you like for me. And the benefits wouldn’t just be in your wallet.

The extra recovery time between decisions being made would mean a better quality of the product on the pitch. Managers could use the time to take small timeouts to change tactics and give further instructions to dictate or redirect their game plans.

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I know VAR has caused as much controversy as it has cured any perceived ills the game had, but if we persevere with it, we can truly enhance our experience. Imagine being able to hear every word spoken between referee and player. It would add an extra dimension for the viewer and it would certainly cut down on the appealing and contesting of every decision the referee makes.

Which in turn lead to a more fluid game to make up for the jarring nature of VAR’s big decisions.

The armpit discussions we’ve had previously are still ongoing but we have nobody to blame but ourselves for that. It might be a bit rich from me to say we should just accept referee decisions, wipe our mouths and get on with it, but if we just did that in the first place then we wouldn’t have VAR at all.

Acceptance is the key because sooner or later there will be nowhere else to turn in our search for fairness and perfection. Just accept referees are sometimes wrong, accept one man’s interpretation isn’t geared by some bias the video ref has against or for certain teams.

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Maybe we should start a campaign to herald in these new age of acceptance. Like Stoptober or Movember. “Remember, remember. Referees make mistakes December” or something like that. The only other solution I can think of is to stick a gag in my mouth so I can’t criticise or bemoan decisions that go against my teams.

Or here’s an idea; referees could just be better. Now there’s a novel concept.