Matildas captain Sam Kerr weighs in on VAR controversy
As a football fan, Matildas superstar Sam Kerr believes the VAR’s implementation is flawed by ‘human error’. As a striker, she’s less and less sure when it’s safe to celebrate.
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The VAR hasn’t killed the Sam Kerr backflip, but it’s certainly signalled a review.
Because the age of sanitised perfection doesn’t leave much room for spontaneous emotion.
And a goal celebration doesn’t feel quite so cathartic after a lengthy analysis of every available camera angle.
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The Matildas megastar experienced the VAR first-hand at this year’s World Cup, and has watched as the world combusts over the maligned technology.
As a fan, she believes its implementation is flawed by “human error”.
As a striker, she’s less and less sure when it’s safe to celebrate.
Cristiano Ronaldo recently mocked the VAR after scoring for Juventus by ditching his trademark celebration in favour of ironic video-replay signals.
And last month’s enduring A-League Melbourne derby image is that of Burundian winger Elvis Kamsoba scoring for Victory and then vaulting himself into flip after glorious flip, only to descend into disappointment once ruled offside after the fact.
“There’s always kind of that in the back of your mind,” Kerr said after arriving in Sydney for the Matilda’s two-match friendly series with Chile.
“At the end of the day there’s so much emotion when you score a goal you can’t really think of those things, but it does suck for the sport.
“Celebrations and people expressing who they are is a big part of it, and it takes away from it.
“If it’s used in the right way it can be beneficial for the game, but I don’t think it’s been used properly.
“I also think people would rather friggin’ talk about a referee than talk about VAR.
“How many games are decided by the referee? Not many. So if you did a vote, I honestly think fans would vote to have one in eight games ruined by a bad call than have the VAR step in every game and prolong the game and take the emotion out of it, and after every goal you have to check the VAR. It’s just a nightmare.”
The criticism has ranged from mild annoyance to outright repulsion since the VAR, initially held up as a panacea to all the game’s shortcomings, started creating more controversy than it settled.
Kerr added her voice to the chorus contending football’s pursuit of perfection is essentially pointless due to the added layer of fallibility that inevitably comes when one human watching a remote screen uses his or her opinion to either uphold or overrule the opinion of another human on the field.
“What people don’t understand is that it’s still human error, it’s still someone else sitting behind the computer or whatever it is making a decision,” she said.
“That’s the part people are struggling with. It’s not a computer giving facts, it’s just another opinion.
“If it’s a clear and obvious mistake they should call it back, but we’re still having trouble (identifying) a clear and obvious mistake.
“It slows the game down too, which I hate. We dealt with it at the World Cup, calling offsides 10 seconds after the play has happened.
“If it’s an offside call they wait until the player touches the ball, so you can actually use it in your favour to waste time by letting the ball run through and not touching it.”
Kerr will captain the Matildas against Chile on Saturday at Bankwest Stadium, where Football Federation Australia expect the team to break their own attendance record for a standalone home fixture before heading to Adelaide for Tuesday’s rematch at Coopers Stadium.
In 2017 a record 16,829 watched the Matildas beat Brazil 3-2 at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium.
Originally published as Matildas captain Sam Kerr weighs in on VAR controversy