VAR confounds sceptics, the World Cup shows its capacity to unite, Peru and Egypt go out partying and passions run high
This hasn’t been an easy talking point to write. But maybe, in the end, it’s not you. It’s us. The experience of Video Assistant Refereeing in the English season had only pointed one way at this World Cup. The endless delays while a middle-aged man fiddles with his ear. The jeers in the stadium. The complete absence of any information. It all felt like something that would diminish decisively the primary experience of the stadium-going fan. But in Russia it has actually worked well. A quick sprint off to check a screen. Decisions made in seconds not minutes. Less fussicking and prancing about and super-officious officialdom. VAR has prevented rather than created controversy, and has stilled the tedious chunter about decisions, so often a last resort for those who would rather not analyse the actual game. If it does nothing else World Cup VAR has saved us from the grisly spectacle of Neymar’s backward dive against Costa Rica being rewarded with a match-turning penalty. If it makes him stay on his feet just a little more, everyone wins. And meanwhile English football take note. It doesn’t have to be an enormous VAR palaver after all. Barney Ronay
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