UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin gives a brutally honest opinion on ‘messy’ VAR

While talking to Mirror Football, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin did not shy away from expressing his dislike towards VAR. The technology has been one of the biggest highlights in the ongoing season of European Football.

More often than not, the decisions made by VAR officials have been subjected to scrutiny, especially in the Premier League. Talking about VAR, Ceferin said that the technology is a ‘mess’ and discussed the possible changes that could be made to the overall procedure of involving VAR in the matches.

Ceferin was quoted saying, “It is a mess. I don’t think the tolerance or one or two centimeters for offside, for example, is enough. We will propose a change to IFAB. And also for our referees.”

“We don’t have many interventions in UEFA competitions because our chief refereeing officer, Roberto Rosetti, said to the VAR’: It has to be a clear and obvious mistake”, he added.

The UEFA President also pointed out that the referees need to make their call irrespective of the pressure from the fans inside the stadium. He concluded his remarks by confirming that he was always skeptical about VAR and now, he can openly say that he hasn’t been a fan of the results.

“But nowadays it’s a different pressure. If you are the referee on the pitch, even though you have 70,000 or 80,000 people shouting it is you that has to decide – not a person hidden somewhere in London, Berlin or somewhere else”, said Ceferin.

He concluded, “I’m not a fan. I was very skeptical, and I can say that I don’t like the outcome. Unfortunately, there’s no way back anymore.”