The VAR Controversy: A Never-Ending Story
Credit: Mokhtar HMIMA
Every high-stakes match is potentially a controversy waiting to happen, thanks to the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system. It seems like we'll never tire of discussing goals or penalties that are denied or awarded. Each club feels targeted, and behind them, a public already enraged and uncontrollable on social media. The VAR is once again under scrutiny.
A primary condition for the VAR's success is the quality of the equipment and technology used. Unfortunately, this is not the case for this season. The imported Chinese equipment is barely sufficient to provide total transparency and reliable decision-making. The company responsible for the VAR, which has received more than a helping hand from the authorities, has demonstrated its incompetence on multiple occasions. With a limited number of cameras and outdated visualization technologies to identify potential offside or penalty situations, it's challenging to expect much. The screens used on the field are also of poor quality, making it difficult for the referee to make a decision within two minutes.
A crucial aspect of the Tunisian VAR is the director. This is a taboo subject that everyone wants to sweep under the rug. For the umpteenth time, we're saying it: accredited directors, especially the one in charge of the VAR company, are deceiving viewers. First, there's the TV director who often chooses to repeat certain actions on screen while ignoring others (to protect a particular club, of course). The chosen angles and shots significantly influence the decisions. We've seen how a handball foul is shown 5 or 6 times from different angles, while other handball fouls are ignored or only shown once or twice from a distance, likely to mislead the VAR staff.
The director is the linchpin of the VAR system. Accusations point directly to a director who is omnipresent at all major matches and cannot be impartial, given his obvious attachment to his favorite club. He provides TV images as he sees fit and monopolizes this role. On numerous occasions, his work has been clearly subjective and manipulated. Are there no other Tunisian or foreign directors who can do this job? Every time a controversy arises, we blame the main referees and the VAR officials (who are likely partially responsible) and turn a blind eye to the TV director who provides the images. No one talks about it, and we don't know why. As long as the images are managed in this way, we can't expect improvement. The partiality, diversion of attention, and even bad faith are undeniable in several matches.
If we want a more transparent VAR, we need to invest more in the equipment used and develop more advanced technology. Most importantly, we must stop protecting the de facto monopoly of the same company and the same biased director, which has been going on for years.
