The problem with video assistant referee

One of the most unfortunate developments in professional association football (soccer) over the past few years has been the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). For those not familiar, VAR is a system that allows on-field refereeing decisions to be overturned if there is video evidence to warrant it.  With a seemingly endless array of camera angles and super slow-motion, using VAR will, in principle, allow referees to get every call right.

And this is precisely the problem with VAR.  Those who support its use are under the impression that all refereeing decisions are either right or wrong.  The fact is, however, that refereeing calls are subjective.

Take, for example, the Offside Rule.  According to the Football Association (FA), football's governing body in England, a player is in an offside position if:
--any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent,
--the hands and arms of all players...are not considered.
Here, a first grey area arises.  Where do the arms of a player end?  Are the shoulders part of the arm?  In order for one to precisely define an offside position, one would need to precisely define where the the human arm ends.  Clearly, this is not possible.

Even if were were to be able to precisely define what an offside position is, in order for one to apply the offside rule, one needs to determine if an offside offense has occured.  According to the FA, an offside offense occurs if
--a player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by...
and then there is a list of 13 ways a player could be involved in active play.  Here again, we encounter a grey area; there is no precise way to define what it means to be "involved in active play."

Offside offences are not the only offences that require referees to make subjective decisions.  Fouls and hand-balls, for example, require the referee to determine what a players intent was during play.  The fact is, nearly every refereeing decision will require some level of subjectivity.  And VAR cannot "correct" this.

VAR has not solved the problem for which it was introduced.  Furthermore, it is costly to implement and results in stoppages in play that, in my view, detract from the enjoyment and excitement of football.  We should abolish VAR from football.