Football is a moral travesty, and we all know it. In fact, injustice is part of the perverse pleasure. Flowing moves and 5-0 wins are all well and good, but let’s be real: there are few greater thrills in life than an underserved, ill-begotten 1-0 victory. And yet, in this most chaotic of sports, where white lines determine no more than the boundary of play and decisions are more often judgement calls, we have come to demand objective truth. Yes, this is about the video assistant referee, and the gilded opportunity Premier League clubs have to scrap it when it comes to a vote next month.
Pre-VAR was no golden age of football, I concede. Arsenal were brittle, nation-states were still purchasing league titles and referees, to be sure, were making mistakes. The radio phone-ins are seared into my brain. “All we want is consistency from officials!” But it was better than this.
