Constrained by commercial interests, the UEFA knockout rounds have become a bit of a nightmare
Holding a continental competition in the middle of a global pandemic was always going to be difficult. Yet, with eight matches already moved to neutral venues for the first knockout rounds of both the Champions League and Europa League – and more expected to come in the coming weeks – UEFA’s solution has only served…
VAR referees are intervening less in games, but is this still problematic?
In January, I wrote a piece highlighting the significant increase in the average number of penalties awarded during the 2020-21 Premier League season. If we continued at the current pace (0.40 penalties per game), we were on track to see 152 penalties given across the full 380-game season, representing a 66.7% on the last season…
Have we cheapened the penalty kick?
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of penalties awarded in the Premier League this season. Many journalists and analysts have raised the issue, arguing that a combination of the revisions to the handball law and the introduction of VAR have caused this spike. While I agree that they have contributed to the…
Four-Point Plan to Improve VAR and the Officiating Process in Football
“Minimum interference – maximum benefit”. That is the philosophy underpinning the Video Assistant Referee’s (VAR) application in football, with its pioneers hoping that while “it will not achieve 100% accuracy, it will positively influence decision-making and lead to more correct, and fairer, judgements”. Yet VAR consistently dominates in-match and post-match discussion for the wrong reasons,…
Football Annalytics 