If people are upset about us getting a VAR decision 'in our favour' (alert! Adams was offside), they can perhaps console themselves that Saints' first goal came after a foul throw and the extremely dubious award of a free-kick. Still, VAR doesn't check 'some things', as we found out in last season's cup final.
For me the two biggest problems with VAR at the moment are that the VAR is not a specific role & that the VAR is not independent of the referee.To get the most competent VAR it needs to be someone whose job is as a VAR official not another referee having a day off running around....there are plenty of ex-refs or ex-players who can be employed / trained to be the VAR, maybe then that independence might lead to VAR trying to correct mistakes rather than trying to get their mates out of the game without any attention.
I saw an interesting comment yesterday regarding VAR, prior to our game in which someone accused VAR (or those that operate it) actively looking for a reason to rule out goals and it certainly looked like that a minute into our game.No one appealed, the ref was happy and we were all ready to kick off again. Pre VAR Barclay's potential offside position may have been bought up in desperation by Arsenal fans and the manager (certainly by Wenger) but would in all probability been dismissed. Now the ref did rule against the goal after a second look, following some others looking at it and calling it into question, but it remains a subjective decision and the long drawn out process was painful. And as if to pour more nonsense on the whole sage, only 3 minutes were added on when the VAR check took over 4???The idea of the system was to get decisions correct and it's failing as much as the officials it was meant to help, while pissing all over the reasons we love the game. Great.
Sorry, I'm not in favour of appeals at all. The whole purpose of it is to assist referees. Rather than Atkinson waiting in the middle of the pitch he should be over by the monitor as soon as it's flagged up that there's a possible infringement. He then makes his decision on whether Barkley is effecting the goal given the ferocity of the shot, half a minute at most.
I'm in favour of Var in general and am happy that Refs are now using the monitor because refs have plenty of experience and understanding of the game. Well, that's clearly bollocks because once Atkinson did his serious run towards the monitor we all knew he'd chalk it off because he was scared of making a mistake. His experience in the game should have said to him no keeper was stopping that even if he had a full view of it on a clear summer's day.