VAR: Has it improved football or has it made it worse?

The free-flowing nature of football is, in part, what makes it the world’s most popular sport. Unlike the NBA and NFL, it is not stop-start in its nature.

However, the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee means top-level football is now far more prone to stoppages and delays with the on-field referee often waiting for decisions to be made by those located in offices often far away from the stadiums themselves.

Football’s first real brush with technology began at the 2014 World Cup, when goalline-technology was implemented into some of Europe’s biggest leagues. It came four years after the controversy over Frank Lampard's strike for England against Germany being missed by the officials: the goal was not given despite it clearly crossing the line.

VAR was used in a major tournament for the first time in 2017 at the FIFA Confederations Cup. In the same year, the Bundesliga and Serie A became the first of the world's major leagues to take the plunge with La Liga and Ligue 1 following suit a year later. The Premier League bowed down to the inevitable and implemented VAR in 2019.

It has not been without controversy but former Premier League referee Mark Halsey says:

“I think it’s actually good for the game. The game is so quick today, and obviously it's difficult for referees to keep up with the pace of the game which is end to end. And we have tackles flying in, all sorts going on. So, I think it's really good for the game but only if it's implemented correctly.”

And the facts appear to back him up. According to premierleague.com before VAR was introduced the percentage of correct key match decisions stood at 82 percent. 12 months later with VAR in use for the 2109/20 season, it rose to 94 percent.

In the 2019/20 season, over