Reinventing football: Fans have their say on which laws should be changed

Former England striker Ellen White said VAR “takes away the joy and emotion of scoring a goal” for players and fans alike, while former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said VAR “has a lot of inconsistencies and it’s down to human error, which is still a big problem.”

Match of the Day presenter Gabby Logan doesn’t think we should get rid of VAR, but “there should be a 90-second rule. If it’s not clear in 90 seconds, it’s not clear and clear.”

What fans said:

Owen: With VAR, learn from the game of cricket and only go to VAR at the request of the captain… three requests per match for each team. That will mean fewer VAR calls and that will only happen when there are really obvious errors and not just simple ones.

Barry: I would change VAR so that it only activates if the referee calls for a check, as is the case in rugby.

Jeff: If it takes more than a minute, it’s not clear and clear. The referees have a big enough team on the pitch, VAR is an unnecessary addition, I would like to know the cost to the clubs, and why they don’t ignore it?

Mike: Get rid of VAR completely. We had over 120 years of the old regime when football was football. Now, it’s a waste of time.

Charlie: Why aren’t referees allowed to ask to see the screen themselves? Stop the VAR from telling the referee what to do and let the referee use the VAR himself. If the referee is unsure, he should ask VAR to show it to the screen instead of waiting five minutes.

What Chris Foy said: “In relation to VAR technology and protocol, a referee can initiate a ‘review’ of a potentially clear and obvious foul or ‘serious missed incident’ when VAR (or another match referee) recommends a ‘review’ and the referee suspects that something serious has been missed.

“The time limit on checks is difficult to implement because in some cases, checks have many moving pieces.”

Dale Johnson added: “The problem with setting a time limit on reviews is that the necessary evidence may not be immediately available.

“Last season, in VAR’s review of the penalty awarded by Liverpool against Wolves, VAR appeared ready to back the decision after the first few replay corners. But then the next replay clearly showed that the striker had initiated contact.

“With a time limit, this may still be a penalty. There is no doubt that if you set a time limit, wrong decisions may not be overturned.”