I believe, some of you guys (especially the neutrals) who are following the World Cup matches will agree that the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is quite a nuisance. For those who are not familiar or knows about VAR, you guys can check it out through this FIFA Website.
I must say that I totally agree that sports needs to change as per current advance in technology, but not all sports needs changes when it is destroying the beauty of the game, especially football or soccer. In my opinion, the VAR is really a pain in the ass as it really disrupts the entertaining flow of the game.
For an example, during the WC match between Sweden and South Korea. There was an incident inside the penalty area of South Korea but the referee ignored it, and South Korea was in a good position to attack Sweden when suddenly the referee stopped the game to check the video of the earlier incident. The referee took at least a minute to check the footage through a video monitor, and at last made a decision to give Sweden a penalty kick. Isn't that an insane decision? Unfortunately for South Korea, the goal through the penalty kick proves to be the match winning goal for Sweden.
The first time I saw the use of VAR in a football match is between Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion during an FA Cup tie. Even then, I already loathe the idea of using it during the match. I really hate it when the referee kept on stopping the game just to check on all the incidents that he thought needs to be reviewed again.
Football is a beautiful game, and human errors, decisions and judgements are part and partial that makes it so entertaining. If VAR existed long time ago, there wouldn't be any legendary incidence and goals such as the one scored by Diego Maradona (hand of god) or by Luis Garcia (ghost or phantom goal). Footbal game should be entertaining, and we can't ignore that sometimes human errors can make it even more entertaining.
I know, the opponents will surely shouts for justice if the referee made some dubious decisions against them. Moreover, if the ref's decisions made them to lose the match. But I strongly believe that VAR is not the answer, instead, VAR is killing the game. FIFA previously experimented using an additional referee near the goalpost of each team. The assistant referee will rightaway put up his flag to notify the main referee if they noticed a foul has been committed inside the penalty area.
In my opinion, using a second or third referee is better than using VAR. Decisions can be made rightaway instead of temporarily stopping the match that will eventually destroy the tempo of the game. FIFA need to seriously look into this matter, if not, the fans will soon be disgruntled and lose interest with this beautiful sport.