Everton should support Wolves VAR proposal in Premier League meeting

Although VAR is certainly not the most important problem facing Everton with an ongoing financial crisis and the never-ending and increasingly farcical situation with 777 Partner's proposed takeover dominating the headlines.

But, the Blues have had plenty of problems with the technology, which has certainly cost the team valuable points at crucial times over the last few seasons.

That is not insignificant when every point might be crucial to staying in the Premier League.

Notorious examples include such incidents as the infamous handball by Rodri of Manchester City at Goodison Park in March 2022.

Then later that season in the Crystal Palace game that ensured survival in the end, Palace's Jordan Ayew was very lucky to stay on the pitch for a really bad challenge before he then scored their second goal putting Everton two down and in serious trouble.

Of course the Toffees are certainly not the only Premier League club to have plenty of complaints and issues with the application of this technology.

Just this season though Everton have had another succession of controversial decisions that have seriously adversely affected the team.

Perhaps the most notorious one earlier in the campaign was in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.

After Ashley Young was sent off for two yellow card offences in the first half, the referee failed to show a second yellow to Liverpool's Ibrahima Konte for two equally bookable offences.

Despite a poor start to the season, after the Blues had suffered an unprecedented ten point penalty for breaching Profit and Sustainability Regulations in November, they went of a four game winning streak that enabled the team to recover those deducted points completely. .

But then in the New Year came a long winless run of thirteen games which included a number of hugely controversial decisions that went against the Toffees.

In the first of those matches Everton got a point at Tottenham but it could have been all three.

Amadou Onana wasn't awarded a spot kick for a blatant shirt pull by Dejan Kulusevski for which the same Spurs player was later found guilty of doing against Brighton. That one though resulted in a penalty!

Later in this run of games the Blues were held at Craven Cottage, but again should have been given a spot kick when the ball clearly struck Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson on the arm.

The ex-Everton player was adjuged not to have handled illegally although his arm was clearly a significant way away from his body.

Compare this with Onana (again!) who was judged to have handballed when the ball was literally blasted at him from very close range against Manchester City.

As we all know the Blues did not get a spot kick awarded to them this season until every other team had been given at least one and usually more.

Look, in truth every team can find examples like this no doubt, although it does seem as though the Toffees get the wrong end of these decisions a lot of times!

The real problem with VAR is that it was brought in - so it's advocates argued - because it would eradicate these inconsistencies in officiating decisions and overcome as it were, the human element.

Clearly that has not happened. And, even if you are a supporter of it, I would say at a minimum certainly not enough to justify all the hassle and controversy it creates.

In fact it could be argued that the number of questionable decisions has increased since it's adoption and using this technology has actually thrown even more light on the competence or lack of it, among officials.

I would also say that it is undermining the authority of the referee and his other officials on the pitch. And for all their imperfections, I don't think this is a good thing.

No amount of technology can be perfect and there is always the need for a human to make the final call in the many unclear, debatable and highly marginal situations within a football match (like handball) so creating that element of imperfection and potential for mistakes.

Furthermore in fact, such decisions are part and parcel of football and indeed every sport, and they are one of the elements that make it the spectacle we all love. Football is an art not a science.

There is another aspect to all this too and that is the impact on the reputation and pleasure to be had from the game.

Premier League football matches have become strange and almost farcical events at times as following a 'goal' being scored, everyone who initially celebrated from players to fans, then so often has to stop and wait for a decision being made by video in a truck many miles away before they can continue celebrating again - or not. It is getting ridiculous.

This is killing the enjoyment and spontaneity of the sport And in the end more than anything else surely football is ultimately about entertainment?

I do not object to technology being used for goal-line decisions for example, but the time has come to call a halt to the VAR experiment.

Well that is my two-pennyworth on this issue!

Will Everton support Wolves proposal at next month's meeting? I doubt it and I do not think it will in the end get passed.

So, again next season we will all have to endure more week-by-week endless microscopic analysis of how and when the technology and it's application got it wrong. I suppose at least it gives all the pundits something to talk about!