NO way should VAR be introduced into the Women’s Super League — there are more important things to address before we even consider it.
I totally agree with Manchester United boss Casey Stoney’s comments this week against its introduction to the women’s game.
The Women’s Super League does not need VAR, according to Alex ScottCredit: Alamy Live News
She said: “I don’t like it, I like the drama of football.
“We aren’t resourced for it — we’re lucky if we get one camera at WSL games, let alone 15.”
We saw how much negative impact it had when it was used for the first time at the Women’s World Cup last summer. There were a lot of female refs who weren’t prepared, you couldn’t expect them to be.
Fifa gave them a quick course before the tournament and that was it, there were many problems because there wasn’t enough training.
Particularly with timings as, on average, full reviews caused a delay of 33 seconds.
HOW CAN YOU EXPECT OFFICIALS TO COPE?
So how can you now expect a league which has officials who are part-time and paid around £120 a game to cope with it?
The WSL must walk before it can run and we are 100 per cent not ready for VAR. I believe it should be used in major women’s tournaments because games are played in big stadiums which have facilities to accommodate.
Hopefully come the home Euros next year, or the Tokyo Olympics this year if it is used, things will be smooth sailing.
Maybe in years to come we will have it — but before I even think about VAR I want to see the women’s game has grown.
Scott agrees with a lot of fans who are not in favour of VARCredit: Getty Images – Getty
That games are being played in top stadiums with sell-out crowds, then maybe we can introduce it.
I also don’t want to see the women’s game plagued by all the tedious VAR chat that the men are suffering at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, I thought it worked smoothly at the World Cup in 2018 — but it’s been a disaster in the Premier League.
When I’ve been commentating, instead of talking about what a great game it has been, we just go back and forth about VAR — it’s becoming a joke.
BECOMING A JOKE
And it wouldn’t be fair on the female players to take the shine away from the beauty of their game either. Instead, I think money should be spent on creating parity in the league.
You’ve got the flashy top three of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea who have bigger budgets.
Sometimes it feels like they’re running away from the rest. Every season it’s a battle between those three — and maybe this year WSL newbies Manchester United.
But it’s the same sides at the top every year, which maybe highlights the gap in the league.
On paper, the lower clubs are classed as professional because they train every day and are contracted to a minimum of 16 hours a week.
But if you go behind the scenes and see how they are run, it’s not professional because they need more support and funding to help them get to a pro standard.
You’ve got players worried about how to make ends meet — and questioning whether they can carry on playing the sport they love.
The word professional is thrown around loosely in the WSL at times like everyone is that standard. But many clubs aren’t really and that’s a more important issue than VAR.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
