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How Often Does VAR Impact Football & Betting?

3 min read
by Editor
How would you describe the 2019/20 Premier League season? It was unexpected and full of changes… to say the least. There was one particular aspect that every bettor was interested in: the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the games. It made a big difference in flagging for tight offside calls, as well as in determining […]

How would you describe the 2019/20 Premier League season? It was unexpected and full of changes… to say the least. There was one particular aspect that every bettor was interested in: the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the games.

It made a big difference in flagging for tight offside calls, as well as in determining the player’s encroachment on penalties. The goal was a fair judgment. Did the Premier League achieve that goal thanks to VAR in the previous season? From this point, we can talk about the way the new referee system affected football and betting.

What Is VAR?

The Video Assistant Referee is an addition to the team of referees that judge the incidents throughout a football match. They have access to all cameras in the stadium, and they often use the ones that show slow-motion replays of incidents. The Replay Operator (RO) and Assistant Video Assistant Referee (AVAR) contribute to the decision-making process. The goal of this team is to review the match referee’s decisions and recommend a fair approach, based on evidence from the video material.  

This protocol is used for making crucial decisions that affect the outcome of the match. They involve cases of mistaken identity, red cards, penalty/no penalty situations, and goal/no-goal decisions. Through direct access to all cameras, the VAR has an opportunity to see when offensive gestures and language were used. They can easily recognize violent conduct that deserves a red card, and they can evaluate the locations of fouls. With this approach, a referee’s incorrect decisions can be prevented or remedied.

How Does VAR Affect Sports Betting?

During the 2019/20 season, 109 VAR-influenced decisions changed the development of matches. Most of these decisions (56) meant disallowing goals. 27 goals and 22 penalties were awarded after reviewing camera recordings. In addition, the referees ruled for penalties to be retaken for four times, and they overturned seven penalties throughout the season.

This leads us to the conclusion: the biggest change for football bettors was insecurity. The live results on betting sites recommended by Gamblerzz, for example, were being updated all the time, and the bettors could never be sure if the results were final. You see a goal being awarded and then disallowed. Your energy went up and down, and you were still doubtful: was the referees’ decision fair? When you are passionate about betting and your win depends on the result, staying cool-headed until you see the real result is not an easy goal to achieve.

That being said, the implementation of the VAR protocol has mostly been positive from a bettor’s point of view. We have been complaining about unfair decisions in football for decades. After watching tapes days after the match, mistakes were obvious but there were no second chances. You might have lost a bet because of an unfair referee’s decision. Now, the chances of such mistakes occurring are minimized.  

How Does VAR Affect Football?

VAR has been known to lead to controversial decisions. The most famous one occurred in the match between Spain and Portugal during the 2018 FIFA Cup. While Spain was celebrating Diego Costa’s goal, the referee reviewed his decision with the VAR, and allowed the goal even though foul play was obvious for real-time viewers.                                                                  

The bottom line is: the VAR protocol should lead to more fair decisions. The main referee still has power over the game’s outcome, but technology helps them to see more and be present across the field.                  

At this point, VAR is still at its trial-and-error stage. However, it has a big potential to contribute towards avoiding human error as much as possible. It does affect the atmosphere in the stadium and the crowd’s vibe, but we will all get used to the protocol as time goes by.

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