Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou said he has never been a fan of VAR after their 2-1 win over Liverpool
The Premier League have reportedly called in British Airways pilots to help VAR officials improve their communication after the farcical mistakes during Liverpool and Tottenham’s controversial clash in September.
Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongfully disallowed due to a “significant human error” by the VAR team, who mistook the on-field decision for onside and advised the referee to stick with the linesman’s call. Audio released by the PGMOL after the game revealed it took about 30 seconds for VAR Darren England and his assistant Daniel Cook to judge Diaz was onside.
But not realising the linesman had flagged it offside, VAR said: “Check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect,” leading to the goal being chalked off. The replay operator then pointed out the mistake as VAR could be heard swearing, before stating that they “can’t do anything” as they’ve “restarted the game”.
A statement from the PGMOL after the match outlined several key changes to their system to help mitigate against the risk of similar errors.
One of which was ” a new VAR Communication Protocol” to “enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions”. According to the Times, part of the PGMOL’s pledge to improve communication is by drafting in British Airways pilots to help with the process.
Pilots Chris Heaven and Pete Nataraj were keen to emphasise the importance of “brief and direct” communication rather than informal dialogue and laddish chat.
Don’t miss…
Spurs have five-man transfer shortlist that includes three Man Utd targets[LATEST]
Leonardo ‘wants to pass on requests’ to Arsenal, Newcastle and Real Madrid[LATEST]
Man Utd and Chelsea at risk of missing out on Guehi as Tottenham ‘ready bid'[LATEST]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
The pilots gave a 45-minute presentation to officials in which they emphasised the importance of staying calm under pressure. They also drew comparisons between their jobs as pilots and referees, including filtering out white noise for take-offs and landings and refining communication with air traffic control.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb is said to have played a key role in putting the sessions together while select group director Jon Moss is also understood to have been involved in the organisation.
Watch TNT Sports and Discovery+ througn Amazon Prime Video for £29.99 a month.
It’s an easy way to watch all the best sports and the Premier League throughout 2023 without signing up to a contract.
Sky is giving exisiting customers the chance to watch TNT Sports for just £25 a month.
It is added onto your existing package meaning you can watch every UEFA Champions League and Europa League match, plus exclusive Premier League games.
Virgin Media allows customers to upgrade their existing packages for a set price.
But if you’re not yet a Virgin Media customer, you can get the Bigger Bundle + Sports for £65 a month.
It comes with mega fast broadband, a Virgin 360 box and TONS of sports channels for you to enjoy.
Source: Read Full Article