1) VAR inconsistency spoils Anfield spectacle
In real time it looked as though the VAR check for Phil Foden’s disallowed goal related to the challenge on Alisson by Erling Haaland. The fact it was for something earlier, Haaland’s foul on Fabinho, a kind of disdainful toss to the floor which seemed entirely unconnected by the time the ball was put in the net by Foden, emphasised again the oddity and inconsistency of VAR. That challenge had been within the referee’s eyeline at the time. Was this video tool really intended to allow the officials to re-referee such 50-50 moments? Was there an obvious injustice here that simply had to be corrected? The answer probably depends on which team you support, or how slowly you replay the collision. But again, it was hard to feel the spectacle was improved by this intervention. This has been an unintended consequence of VAR: over-refereeing, and bizarrely excessive prominence for the enforcer of some necessarily subjective laws. Football is entertainment. Bald men looking at screens is not. Barney Ronay
