Premier League VAR: Commentator summed up its impact after Harry Kane strike in 2021

Will there ever come a time when Premier League fans and players alike don’t bemoan the shambles that can be the VAR system?

The refereeing aid has been around for several seasons now and yet still feels like it is bedevilled with a crippling range of teething problems.

The offside rule continues to be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back for fans, with decisions seeming to swing on the whim of whomever is running the cameras on a given day.

Marcus Rashford was given the benefit of the doubt in a tight offside call against Liverpool but other decisions, that look almost identical in scope, have gone against the attacker.

You can hardy blame fans for feeling a little wearied whenever the dreaded ‘VAR Check’ is emblazoned across the big screens in the stadiums or a commentator ominously warns that the goal hasn’t been awarded just yet.

Of course, there have been times when the system has done exactly what it says on the tin, preventing and reversing some absolute howlers from referees and their assistants.

Marcus Rashford was onside for Manchester United's second goal due to the tolerance level which was added to VAR offside last summer. Would have been offside in 2020-21.When a player is onside due to tolerance level one green line is shown, drawn to the defender.#MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/3SRpOPX7fN

In truth, there can’t be many a football fan out there that hasn’t at one point or another, been incredibly grateful for the intervention of the folks down at Stockley Park.

Sadly, while the on-paper mantra of the VAR system does make a lot of sense, we can’t help but grieve what it has taken from the game.

There is a raw, on-the-edgeness to football that seems to have been stolen from the game by the science and