Spurs were awarded two early spot kicks in their 2-1 loss on November 26. The first came when the ball struck Ezri Konsa in the arm, just before Diego Carlos elbowed Bryan Gil in the face. But since there were doubts about whether VAR was even operational, neither call was approved (Sky Sports).
Though Sky Sports pundit Robinson feels neither Villa calls would have been overturned if the situation had been reversed, he is tired of the “boring” requirement to discuss the same issues that come up every week. Robinson also asserts that referees are now “afraid” to make decisions on the pitch.
“Honestly, I’m so tired of talking about officials and VAR,” Robinson stated in an exclusive interview with Tottenham News. It is absurd. Had the two decisions made by Spurs been made on the pitch, they would not have been reversed.
“That is the future we are heading towards, a world in which referees are scared to call a play because they are aware that VAR is there as a safety net, but we may not be doing that correctly.
“The officiating in this country has been poor, and it’s getting worse. The way that VAR is implemented, there’s far too many people involved, there’s far too many voices. Let one person speak, let one person tell the referee there might be something he needs to look at.
“The referee on the field, let him then go and look at the monitor and only him watch it. Nobody speak to him, just let him watch it and let him make a decision. Because there’s far too many people becoming involved and I think that was the case with Spurs and Villa at the weekend.
“We’re not sure what we can and can’t overturn, what we can and can’t interfere with, and the whole thing is honestly becoming a farce. Every single week we talk about it. It’s not going anywhere, it’s in to stay, but it has to be regulated and used in a sensible way.
“I, like however many hundreds of thousands of fans up and down the country, am bored with it, it’s boring, and it’s the same stuff every week. They’ve even got their own show on the television. I don’t even like it but I watch it just to find out what they’re saying.
“It’s ridiculous. And then they’re bringing in sin bins as well aren’t they? We can’t even get the referees right on the field and now we’re bringing in another rule with sin bins which is obviously going to be implemented at the higher level.
“I’m not so sure they’ve thought that one through because what is it? You get down to eight a side and then the match is abandoned? That’ll be an interesting one.”
The debate seems to have escalated to the point where officials are giving in to pressure and the problems are getting worse rather than better, regardless of the merits or shortcomings of VAR or officiating standards.
While it would seem most sensible to simplify the process as much as possible, there are so many changes made in the opposite way that almost no one is happy with the results. This is because VARs seem to pick apart small infractions and ignore obvious mistakes.
Since decisions are inherently subjective, it is impossible to please everyone. The debate has reached a fever pitch where every decision is scrutinised in great detail, but the Carlos elbow at the weekend in particular seemed like a pretty obvious mistake that went unpunished as Tottenham’s losing streak grew to three games.