7
votes
Top-flight match in Norway abandoned when fans staged protest against the use of video assistant referees by throwing fishcakes, tennis balls and smoke bombs on the pitch
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- Title
- Top-flight football match in Norway abandoned after fans stage fishcake protest against VAR
- Word count
- 402 words
Why fishcakes?
Hilariously, Norwegian media are reporting (using anonymous sources) that there was a middle school-esque plan that cooked up the use of fishcakes in the protest:
How to create noise and difficulties with protests using something permitted in the stands?
Why not try to attract seagulls, usually found in the area around the stadium?
And so all these hardcore fans bought and cooked fish cakes to attract seagulls. The only issue was that they didn't show up. Foiled again!
Admittedly I don't follow the sport regularly, but I had no idea there was such backlash. I would welcome the tech, but I'm used to games stopping. I like the auto-offside tech mentioned as well, and nice to hear that has fewer detractors.
The VAR is on average an improvement. Without it there were always so many moments where the whole stadium saw on screen when a decision was wrong, but there was nothing the ref could do about it. Now it is a few moments with slight delay, and sometimes the VAR is overzealous and harsh on a small foul. That can be fixed easily
Noticed this with football during European Championship as well. They'll whistle too late after something occurred, etc.
If the referee keeps looking at footage to make the judgement, you might as well get rid of the referee on the field...
I hate VAR until I don't hate VAR. If a replay is indeterminably difficult to make a call, then no foul, on with the game. The whole process of having the field ref being called to watch the replay etc., is slowing down the game. To me, I would have set plays that will get reviewed, for example, goals, and let the 3 refs on the VAR booth make the determination and get on with it.