WHAT A VAR-CE

JUST because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not after you.

As Wolves boss Gary O’Neil continues to realise.

Wolves were the club who raged against the machines and forced a vote among Premier Leagueclubs on whether VAR should be scrapped — only to lose 19-1 because none of their rivals shared their originality of thought.

Believing that technology doesn’t always improve things is becoming one of society’s great taboos.

And then the Ipswich v Everton kick-off gets delayed due to “IT issues at the turnstiles”.

My own digital season ticket has vanished from my so-called smartphone. I never once lost an actual season ticket.

Yet profess a hatred of apps and QPR codes, or whatever they’re called, and suddenly you’re Captain f***ing Caveman.

Still, rant over and back to Wolves. Of course, football being football, the Molineux club acted largely out of self-interest by  bringing that vote.

Last season, Wolves were top of the VAR “hard-done-by league” with a staggering  seven overturns going against them.

But they ended up a lone voice of common sense, speaking out against a system which beats the joyous spontaneity out of the game and leaves match-going fans frequently baffled.

On Sunday, O’Neil’s rock-bottom side were kicked in the teeth again when VAR awarded Manchester City’s John Stones an injury-time winner, despite Bernardo Silva being in an offside position and  jostling with keeper Jose Sa.

The on-field ref Chris Kavanagh —  on the scene for a remarkably  large percentage of high-profile gaffes — deemed Silva to have  been interfering with play, yet VAR Stuart Attwell disagreed.

Then came Kavanagh’s trip to the VAR monitor — an entirely  performative process to give the impression that the referee is still allowed a mind of his own and won’t just automatically do whatever Stockley Park recommends.

Pretty much every great old-school manager from Bill Shankly to Brian Clough is credited with quoting the phrase, “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?”

While that view is too simplistic, we’ve gone too far in the opposite direction.  – Sun.

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