Soccer institutions, frozen in time

Last week, I discussed VAR with my students in the course I teach on soccer and economics. Although this new technology has increased the objectivity of decisions, it has not eliminated refereeing controversy at all. Some subjective decisions remain, and not only those that are not covered by VAR. Games are unnecessarily delayed or interrupted in a sport that has an appeal based on fluidity and fast pace. Some decisions, like calling hands or running or not to the screen, are still basically subject to discretionary interpretation and, since now they are supposed to rely on higher standards, they are even more controversial than before. In many cases, and as it happens in other sports, it would be helpful that referees or their assistants in the VAR room, explain their decisions in real time.

The lesson beyond sport is that there is some inconsistency in introducing disruptive technologies and pretending to keep the old instituions in place. In spite of the help of high quality videos, the governance of a soccer game is the same as before VAR (or before TV). In particular, there is an individual (the single referee) who has discretionary and final decision powers on penalty kicks, cards and the control of time. This power in a sport that depends on very narrow scores, coupled with the global expansion and commercialization of the business, is an invitation to fan pressure and in the extreme, bribing and corruption. My favourite team, FC Barcelona, is currently being investigated for alleged bribing of an executive in charge of refereeing in Spain. Although in my country refereeing has improved a lot since the times of overweight part-time referees, many games and even championships are decided by a referee mistake.

One of the most ridiculous features of the current VAR rules is the possibility, at their discretion, of refereees running to a screen in the margins of the pitch. Sometimes they have to cross the whole field and suffer the harrasment of fans, players and staff while they do that. Sometimes they decide to go, others they decide to rely (understandably) only on the opinion of the VAR room. That decision is not explained during or after the game. Also ridiculous is that the officials in the VAR room, also professional referees, at least in the Spanish league, are dressed like field referees, when they are in a presumably climatized office in Madrid, far away from the pitch.

It is also ridiculous that with all these technological possibilities around, the finishing time of the game is still controlled by the referee, who discretionally decides how many minutes (not seconds) to add to the official 90 minutes. This discretionary injury time should be replaced by the same centralized control of time that we see in basketball and handball. And most if not all of the decisions taken with VAR assistance should be taken in the VAR office and explained by the officials in that office, or by a robot. This would reduce the stakes of refereeing and also the incentives for corruption.

Institutions in soccer are frozen in time, decided in an era where there was not even television, governments were weak, and sport was not professional. Time for a change.