Football Attendances: VAR

Tracy Brabin Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Westminster Hall

[Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) for securing this debate, which comes at a time of crisis for our country. Coronavirus has closed clubs up and down the country and loads of pressing matters are on Members’ minds today. Earlier we learnt that the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the right hon. Member for Hertsmere (Oliver Dowden), is self-isolating with his family, so we send him our regards and hope that he gets well soon and is okay. Also, we send our thoughts to all the fans and players around the country who love the game. For them it is absolutely unbelievable that they have to go for weeks on end without watching their players or playing the game themselves, so we also think about them.

There is something incredibly British—

[David Linden]

Steady now.

[Tracy Brabin]

And something incredibly Scottish about our discussing VAR and football at a time of crisis. We have heard lyrical, passionate and poetic descriptions of the game. I agree with what the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden) said about the smaller clubs. As we go forward with the closures, we really have to think about the small community clubs such as we saw in Bury a few months ago. We must try to put in place opportunities to protect them from closure because they are the very heart of our communities. They provide jobs and for the businesses that support those clubs it is really important that we make sure they survive this terrible crisis.

We are undoubtedly a nation of football lovers. Both recent World cups captured the public’s imagination, and the national teams of our home nations enjoyed fantastic support. There is a collective belief in the game. We want it to absolutely thrive. During the men’s World cup in 2018, most of the British football-supporting public experienced the video assistant referee for the first time. During the World cup, what became known as VAR was generally received as an exciting addition that made the game fairer, but managed to avoid becoming a hindrance. However, the same cannot be said when it was introduced into the premier league a year later at the beginning of the season.

It is easy to forget that, ahead of VAR’s introduction into our beautiful game, many were welcoming, some with a little trepidation, because it might have been the chance to make football fair. Far too often the back pages were dominated by a goal that might just have been or a goal that was or should not have been, or an unjust sending off or a dive outrageously missed by the poor mortal referees. VAR was an opportunity to allow football to thrive and to make the story about the sport and the drama, and not the controversy. Regrettably, such optimism quickly diminished.

This season, as we have heard from hon. Members, VAR has quickly established itself as the scourge of fans, commentators and pundits. Football is a game that happens in the moment. It is not comparable to tennis, cricket, snooker, or, to a lesser extent, rugby, where there are natural pauses or breaks in the game: an appropriate moment where there can be a quick look or a double check. Iconic moments in football when the ball ripples the back of the net and terraces erupt have too often been lost this season and replaced with anxious faces, as we have heard, watching the screen to see if the goal has gone to be checked. It causes undue agony for fans. The question is whether losing such moments of joy and jubilation are worth it in the pursuit of absolute decision-making accuracy. As things stand, VAR is losing that argument.

Too often fans in the stadium or at home, or even the players on the pitch, do not understand what is being checked. “Squint and you’ll see it” offsides are one thing, but the goals that get ruled out for a foul that happened much earlier in the play are another. However, easy as it would be, we must not get carried away with criticisms. Although my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield and others have called for VAR to be scrapped, it is quite possible that it is here to stay. This is the maiden season of a radical, bold change. It was overly optimistic to expect such a seismic shift in a game that ignites so much passion to be received as easily as a duck takes to water.

However, to understand and appreciate that is not to say that changes do not need to be made. If VAR is to remain, the in-stadium experience must change. Fans who are used to living in the moment enjoying a game blow by blow can no longer be expected to watch and wait for minutes on end—long minutes—for those purple screens to make a game-changing decision. The scope of VAR referrals must be made completely clear. Checks should be completed in a certain timeframe, and fan communication must improve. Certainly what I enjoy about rugby is that it is possible to hear what is going on, which keeps people connected to the game and engaged in the decisions. Out of all Britain’s leagues, VAR is currently used only in the premier league—not in the championship or other leagues below. Next season there will be 17 clubs that have experienced playing under VAR and three that do not have that experience. That could be a disadvantage, considering that we already know how difficult a maiden season in the premier league can be. We in West Yorkshire hope to see Leeds United back in the premier season soon. Hopefully Huddersfield Town will join the elite soon, too.

I shall be watching with concern to see whether acclimatising to VAR will hamper the newly promoted clubs. It is only fair to say that I have had representations on this from the premier league, as I am sure others have, ahead of the debate. It helpfully points out that VAR is only 29 games into its first ever season. Stadium attendance since its introduction is tracking at a record high of 97.5%, although it is questionable whether that is about VAR or just the brilliance of the football. The league is working with the clubs on guidance with respect to stadium information for fans. I take all that on board; but the premier league is the crème de la crème of football. Children from places that we in this Chamber have never heard of go to bed dreaming of one day playing in it. Such is its success that it is beamed all over the world, and its superstars are truly global. Therefore, while I am willing to take on board the premier league’s opinions, fans are right to expect a better, more successful introduction.

In conclusion, VAR must learn to work better. It is vital for fans, future fans and the future of the game. The Labour party and, I am sure, every Member present, and Members across the House, look forward very much to premier league football, and the rest of football, getting back to their brilliant best as soon as it is safe for them to do so.